Recently we caught up with alumna Jasmine Hughes to find out what she has been up to since leaving the College last year.

1. What are you currently studying and where?
I’m currently studying at CRC doing the Art Foundation course. In addition to this I have also been working as a Marketing Intern at Hills Road Sixth Form College alongside fellow alumna, Caitlin Shortall and the Marketing & Communications officer, Vivien Brownlee. The experience and knowledge that I have gained from this postition has been invaluable and I will be very sad to leave Hills Road for good in a few months time.

2. Why did you choose to follow this path?
I chose to study an Art Foundation because it is a really good way to build up your portfolio of work, either for university or employment. I have always been interested in the creative world and this was a great way to extend my experiences.
While studying at Hills Road I was told by many different people that the Art Foundation was the best year of their creative education and that I would really enjoy it–they were right! I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here and am now working towards my final major project. The course has allowed me to experiment with a lot of different materials and has furthered my skills, ideas and thinking from what I had initially developed at Hills Road.


"Spring" - One of Jasmine's favourite pieces she made whilst at Hills Road.

3. When you were at Hills Road, what did you want to do in life - is this still the same?
As I only left Hills Road last year, I still more-or-less want to do the same thing, although now I am more certain of my choice. I really want to become a graphic designer or something similar within the creative industries. I recently did a work experience placement in London at an advertising agency, which was an amazing experience! I got to meet so many different people and it really gave me an idea of what I could be doing in a few years’(or even months’) time.

4. What was your fondest memory from Hills Road?
I have so many fond memories of Hills Road. I met so many great people here and had wonderful teachers for all of my classes. However, probably one of my fondest memories is from playing Pictionary in our final art lesson before the Christmas holidays. We all bought in a few sweets and cakes and went absolutely mad trying to work out what each other’s extremely bad drawings were(bearing in mind we were all art students)! It was shocking.

Jasmine with her art class friends in the end of year fashion show.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the fashion show and the trip to Amsterdam with Art at the end of Lower Sixth. Wearing each other’s creations was great fun and it was great to see everyone’s final designs. In Amsterdam I particularly loved the boat tour we took one evening; seeing the reflective lights and sunset on the water was magical.


Two photographs from the Hills Road Art trip to Amsterdam (2014).
Top - Jasmine's own photograph of the buildings from the boatride.
Bottom - Some of the students enjoying their time in one of the visited galleries.

I also had great fun in all my other subjects, as you can see in the picture (below) of my last day with my English class.


5. Where do you see yourself in five years?
In the next five years I hoped to have travelled a bit more. I recently went to New York, as part of my Art Foundation course, and I absolutely loved it! (That’s another great thing about the Art Foundation – it still gives you time to travel before going to University or employment!)
I hope to be in a job that I love, hopefully something where I can be creative. I have recently launched my own website and have started blogging, although I need to be more consistent with this! This summer I am also going to take part in Cambridge’s Open Studios, where I will be able to showcase more of my recent work. So who knows where all of this might take me - watch this space.


6. What did you do in New York, is it different from anywhere you've been before?
New York was amazing and I have so many good memories from visiting there – you can read about it more on my blog:
www.jasminehughes.com
As it was an art trip we visited a lot of galleries, museums and did a lot of sight-seeing. I honestly don’t know how we managed to fit it all in! A highlight of mine was probably going ice skating in Central Park, as well as capturing the city in my own, personal way – through my camera lens.

Jasmine's photograph of the ice rink in Central Park.

I'd never visited outside of Europe before, so America was a completely new experience for me. Personally, I didn’t find New York that dissimilar to London. Only that New York is a lot taller, bigger and noisier. I would like to go back and I would definitely recommend visiting, but if visiting in winter, do wrap up warm.


Jasmine with some of her friends from the Art Foundation in front of The Statue of Liberty.

7. If you could give one piece of advice to someone thinking about university and/or further education, what would it be?
I would definitely recommend doing the Art Foundation to any student wishing to study art! It really is a worth-while experience and I guarantee you will enjoy it! To anyone applying for University, personally I wasn’t sure on going (I’m still not!). If you’re not certain, take a gap year and explore the world or job options by taking up work experience, internships and apprenticeships. There’s no age limit on going to University, so take as much time as you need. I know it may feel that everyone your age is going, but do what’s right for you! As I learnt from my work experience, it’s good to be a bit different sometimes.

Was there a particular College trip that you enjoyed? Did you study art at Hills Road or go on further to do an art foundation or degree? We want to know! Please share your stories and experiences with us by emailing alumni@hillsroad.ac.uk and you could be featured in our next news article! We look forward to hearing from you all.