Victoria Salgado was born and raised in Chicago, and attended Foreman High School on the city’s Northwest Side. Once she graduated, she spent a year at Concordia University, but wasn’t sure she was heading in the right direction with her major and didn’t want to go into debt over something she wasn’t sure about. She spent the next seven years working at Office Max full-time, where she was a print supervisor. Then, she realized that there was no way to advance her career any further, because she didn’t have the credentials for any of the positions she applied to. It was then that she decided to return to college.

Victoria chose Wright College because it was affordable, close to home, and came highly recommended by friends.

“At first, I was a little scared because I was older than a lot of the students I had classes with, but the more I got involved in the community, the more comfortable I became.”

Victoria spent time in the Architecture Club and working in Visual Performance Arts at Wright. She also felt supported by faculty and staff, and found a mentor in faculty member Rory Leonard after she signed up for a drawing class.

“I’ve loved art since I was a child, but never saw it as a way to support myself,” said Victoria. Leonard saw her talent and encouraged her to explore other areas of the art world, which is how she got interested in three-dimensional art.

Having found her path, Victoria is on her way to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she will study design with the help of a scholarship that will cover half of her tuition.