Graphic design graduating senior Megan Qualley is ISU College of Design student marshal for spring commencement

05/05/23

AMES, Iowa — Megan Qualley, from Iowa Falls, Iowa, will represent the Iowa State University College of Design as its student marshal at the university’s Spring 2023 Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony #2 Saturday, May 13, at Hilton Coliseum.

Qualley will graduate summa cum laude with a major in graphic design and a minor in design studies. Her faculty escort will be Alex Braidwood, associate professor of graphic design.

A first-generation college student, Qualley transferred to Iowa State from Ellsworth Community College in 2020. Since then she has been a member of the Dean’s List and the top 2 percent of her class every semester at Iowa State.

She received the ISU Janice Peterson Anderson Senior Award in Graphic Design and was selected as a Graphic Design USA Student to Watch. Her work was accepted into the prestigious Illustration West 61 international exhibition and won awards in several Memorial Union student art shows, including Best in Show in the 2022 “Nostalgia” exhibit; Purchase Award and Honorable Mention in the 2022 “Studies in Creativity” exhibit; and People’s Choice Award in the 2021 “Studies in Creativity” exhibit.

Qualley’s senior capstone project will be part of “The Senior Design Finale” from 6–8 p.m. Thursday, May 11, in Hall A at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.

While at Iowa State, Qualley was an active member of the Graphic Design Student Association and served as president of the Design Social Club. She also volunteered at events including the ISU 4U Promise college exploration. She completed a one-year creative marketing internship at Workiva in Ames from May 2022 to May 2023.

Qualley chose Alex Braidwood to be her faculty escort for commencement because “I really enjoyed his design classes, and he has been a great advisor for the Design Social Club,” she said. “Not only have I learned a lot of technical graphic design skills from him, but also qualities like leadership and innovation as a designer.”

After graduation, Qualley will join RDG Planning and Design as an experiential graphic design intern.

She is a 2019 graduate of Iowa Falls-Alden High School and the daughter of Brian and Mary Qualley of Iowa Falls.

Contacts

Megan Qualley, Graduating Senior, Graphic Design, qualley@iastate.edu
Alex Braidwood, Associate Professor, Graphic Design, abr@iastate.edu
Heather Sauer, Director of Strategic Communications, College of Design, hsauer@iastate.edu

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May 5, 2023 3:37 pm