This is more of a personal story about how I found the job at the High Line. To learn more about the impact I made there, check out the post: My 3 year High Line love affair.
I’ve always loved traveling, but due to working 9-5 as we all do, it took 10 years since college that I was able to take a trip longer than two weeks again. In 2014, at the age of 30, I bought all new gear for a month-long backpacking trip to Chile and Argentina. I purchased all the goods, to name a few: a 75-liter backpack, headlamp, Patagonia gear from head to toe for all different types of weather (I managed to get a 60% discount!). I was wearing Patagonia in Patagonia, hehe. All my fears of traveling alone in my early 30s, completely dissipated as I made new friends every single day I was there. I noticed that people tend to travel either in their early 20s or early 30s, and not so much in between. You can read a quick summary about the trip here.
In 2016 I had another opportunity to travel, and decided to go to New Zealand and Indonesia for a three months — the longest trip I’ve taken outside of NYC. I’ll have to write a post about this one, but the point I’m trying to make is that… this trip refreshed me inside out. I spent almost 2 months in New Zealand exploring all its nature (spoiler alert: It’s gorgeous), and then I spent a whole month in Indonesia in water… from learning how to surf to scuba diving in Komodo National Park. I also spent a week in Melbourne, Australia in between, and FELL IN LOVE with that place!
Towards the end of my longest-trip-outside-of-NYC-ever I started to think, ok now what. I traveled a month longer than intended. Spent more money than I intended (New Zealand isn’t that cheap). I need to find a job and I need to find a way to make money. I knew I didn’t want to do agency life anymore as that had burnt me out. I was even thinking about moving out west because I wanted more nature in my life. AND, I also wanted to stay freelance so that I can continue to travel. Work, travel, work, travel. That was my dream. It’s been my dream for a long time actually.
Anyway, I reached out to a few recruiters a week or so before my departure back home, and very quickly Evie Porwick came through to me (as she tends to!) with this amazing opportunity of working at the High Line. They needed someone to come in, with branding experience, and help refresh the High Line branding so that it’s materials represented the amazing entity that is the High Line. At that moment, it wasn’t the case. They were using different small studios externally, and their materials were not cohesive and all over the place. Kirk Love was seeking to create an internal creative team. As a reminder, I really wasn’t seeking a full-time job but after a little bit of inquiry, I instantly fell in love with the opportunity. I knew I was the perfect person and could help them. I didn’t even try to look for another job, even though it took a month or so of patiently waiting. In September 2016, I became the High Line’s first in-house graphic designer :) It’s been one of the most in alignment jobs I’ve had.
For three-plus years I was surrounded by amazing art, nature & free public programs, among the people behind-the-scenes that were making it all happen. My desk was right by Robert Hammond’s office (co-founder of the High Line.) It was an exciting time. I remember going to see my first show on the high line, contemporary opera smack in the middle of the city. I was in aw. I knew even then I would look back on these days and think, “Wow, did that really happen?” Robert happened to also be a Vedic Meditation teacher, and through the High Line I was fortunate to have became trained in Vedic Meditation with Rick Little, who helped make the High Line happen from the early days. I was passionate about my time there and supported it fully by going to the shows and even volunteering at the yearly fundraising events. As a bonus, I got to walk the High Line to Chelsea Market for lunch. What a dream.
All that said, it was ALOT of work! There were very few of us making it all happen. It was a combination of startup and non profit way of being. I hope this blog post will show give you an idea of what we were able to do.
Continue reading: My 3 year High Line love affair