Meet Demetria Dresser | Designer, Photographer & Innovator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Demetria Dresser and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Demetria, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk-taking is a crucial part of self-development, I certainly wouldn’t be who I am now without the risks I took to get here. When I first got to Michigan as a freshman, I decided for myself that my college experience would involve me pushing my boundaries, both academically and personally. Taking risks allows us to try new things and ultimately understand who we are at the core and who we want to be. Pushing myself beyond my comfort zone has allowed me to grow exponentially during my time at Michigan and has become a habit in my life. By putting myself in new environments and working towards goals that might have once felt impossible to reach, I have continued to learn more about myself and met inspiring people along the way. Risk-taking can look like mountain biking for the first time or pursuing an executive role in an organization you’re not sure you are qualified for yet. It can mean signing up for a 17-hour road trip to Louisiana with a car full of strangers or having an amazing networking opportunity come from an email you were almost too scared to send. These are all risks I have taken in the past year, resulting in newfound clarity of a once extremely blurry path. As I look toward the future, I am excited for what lies ahead and ready for the challenges that will inevitably come. I’ve stressed the importance of risk taking which goes hand in hand with strong ambition. I find genuine enjoyment in setting and reaching ambitious goals which takes a solid work ethic and a substantial amount of courage to do. It also requires enough humility to notice when I am on a path that might not be the right one for me. I try to set short and long-term goals and reflect on them frequently. In doing so I can stay in tune with myself and adjust my path accordingly while also being aware of my strengths and weaknesses. A famous quote I often remind myself of goes like this, “A ship in the harbor is safe but that is not what ships are built for ” (John A. Shedd). The desire to remain comfortable is a natural human instinct, but it is impossible to grow to our greatest potential self without leaving our comfort zone. As I work towards building my career and establishing goals for the future, I remind myself to remain thoroughly genuine in my pursuits to chase a fulfilling life that allows me to surround myself with people I love and respect.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a current full-time student completing my third year at the University of Michigan. I’m studying art and design in tandem with business and working towards a career in the music industry. Before college and during my first year, I worked as a summer marketing associate for Jane Beiles at Jane Beiles Photography. I cannot stress enough how much of an amazing mentor Jane was and still is to me. She inspired me to work hard and have fun while doing it. She taught me the importance of professionalism and how to connect with clients. She continues to grow her career and business all while raising a wonderful family and I will forever look up to her. During my second year at Michigan, I began working as a marketing and media assistant for Gretchen Wheeler at the William Davidson Institute (WDI). I have been fortunate to have this opportunity and work for a company like WDI which uses business and education to provide solutions in low and middle-income countries. Working closely with Gretchen has taught me so much, not only about the work WDI is doing and how my position contributes to it, but about the logistics behind graphic design and communication on a corporate level. Gretchen has been and continues to be another woman I look up to as I build my career. I think it is important to recognize the people who have mentored me and helped me with my professional growth as I continue to learn and build my career.

Reflecting on how much I have grown during college so far, I used to be someone who took ‘working for the weekend’ a little too seriously (shoutout Loverboy). By that I mean I completed what needed to be done as quickly as possible so that I could have fun going out on the weekend. This mindset was contradicting who I am at the core- someone who enjoys working hard for a bigger goal. I was working against myself, I was not investing in myself, and I was wasting time on distractions that I didn’t enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, a great night out is a great night out, but working with that as the goal in mind was not productive for me. I worked hard to switch my mindset and develop habits that allowed me to structure my life with bigger goals in mind. I thought about where I wanted to be academically and what kind of student I was going to be. I worked to strengthen my faith. I looked for healthy outlets and created fitness goals that could fit into my lifestyle as a student. I thought critically about where to position myself to continue to develop my career path. All of this, while being a full-time student and an employee for two part-time jobs. As any Michigan student would understand, this is no easy task. Let me stress that this is a process, an ongoing project.

For the first two years of college, I struggled to find an intersection between art and business that I was passionate about. I began reaching out to students who inspired me, met with professors who might give me some direction, and attended so many career development workshops and panel discussions from visiting companies trying to find something that stuck. With hard work and probably way too much stress, I learned that I was passionate about working in the country music industry. I shifted my energy from trying to discover what general career direction I wanted to pursue, to pursuing it. I am now serving on the executive board of a student-run organization, Michigan Songwriters Collective (MISC), as a VP of creative operations and marketing. I have learned so much from my fellow executive board members who continue to inspire me and encourage me in my professional and creative pursuits. I am so excited for all MISC has planned for this upcoming winter semester, and privileged to be a part of it. I’ve found new artistic interests in concert photography and artist branding which I have been developing through MISC and on the side. I am so grateful for the resources Michigan and its students and faculty have offered which allowed me to grow and learn so ambitiously.

I have continued to educate myself on potential career possibilities, much of which has been done through networking on and off campus with students, professors, and people who are currently working in the industry I am interested in. I have since landed on wanting to work as an A&R representative and creative advisor for artists in the country music industry. As someone who feels very split between business and creative, I am working to build a career that allows me to have a foot in both worlds. I have always found inspiration from music and being able to influence growing new artists would be a dream. I also love working with people, learning about different perspectives, and taking inspiration both creatively and professionally from people I meet. With that being said, it is difficult for me to imagine an exact end goal for my career, I have learned about such a variety of paths and niches in the past few months that I never knew existed. I don’t want to restrict myself or work towards a stationary end goal but rather continue to educate myself and develop professionally while keeping an open mind. I hope to intern in Nashville this summer and am actively working towards that goal!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend was visiting Ann Arbor for a week, I would make sure to take them to some of the many great restaurants the city has. Some of my favorites include Zingerman’s Roadhouse and Mani Osteria. One of the best things about Ann Arbor is how walkable everything is so I would take them to Kerrytown for the farmers market and downtown to the Blind Pig for a concert! One of my favorite spots in AA is the Barton Nature Area which has some great trails for biking and running that I would be sure to visit. And lastly, I would have to take them to the Big House for an iconic Michigan Football game.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to thank my cousin, Kent Dresser, for being one of my biggest supporters and a great inspiration. Having Kent as a close friend and mentor in my life has given me support in becoming the best version of myself and never settling for less.

Website: https://www.demetriadresser.com/

Instagram: @demetria.dresser @__demdesigns

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/demetria-dresser-3629b2211/

Image Credits
Jordyn Hardy (headshot)