{"id":23217,"date":"2020-12-10T15:18:23","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T15:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/industrial-design\/2020\/12\/10\/mirrors-and-mentors-reaching-back-for-the-next-generation\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T23:37:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T03:37:55","slug":"mirrors-and-mentors-reaching-back-for-the-next-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/design.ncsu.edu\/industrial-design\/2020\/12\/10\/mirrors-and-mentors-reaching-back-for-the-next-generation\/","title":{"rendered":"Mirrors and Mentors: Reaching Back for the Next Generation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ClayVon Lowe, Reggie Howell and Britt Davis are all graduates of the College of Design. All three have unique passions and professions, but they are also connected by the mentors which have guided them. By paying the act of mentorship forward, they have not only formed a bond that continues to shape their own lives and careers, but those of other young minds as well.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hustle Factor<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

When asked what advice he would share with aspiring designers, ClayVon Lowe offers the phrase he lives by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe dream is free. The hustle is sold separately.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But those words didn\u2019t come to him on their own. It took years of challenges and the care of others. It took the opportunity to see other designers who looked like him. It took guidance and mentorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s turned those words into a living mantra. Not just for his own success, but to help others foster their own hustle throughout their design journeys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ClayVon [BID \u201903, MID \u201805] credits his mentoring mindset to others who have helped him along the way. Some of those figures include fellow classmates, a handful of clients and especially former Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Marva Motley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With those figures as a guiding force, the next generation of mentors in design began to form.<\/p>\n\n\n