Story by Reggie Hayes | Photography by Hannah Fowerbaugh (BA ’19)
As the first person in her family to go to college, Jasmine Bejar (BA ’15) took the advice of many people and chose a major she thought would guarantee employment upon graduation.
A certified nursing assistant (CNA) while in high school in Whiting, Indiana, she thought the nursing program at the University of Saint Francis would be a perfect fit. The queasiness she felt as a CNA would subside, she figured.
That queasiness did not subside.
“I was a nursing major for about two weeks when they said, ‘We’re going to dissect a cat’ in Anatomy. I said, ‘No, I’m not. I’m going to see myself out of this course—and this major. There’s got to be something else I could do,’” Bejar said.
Bejar’s tale is an instructive one for new college students, complete with a happy ending. Freshmen don’t always know what they want to do with their lives, and it can take some time to figure that out. There’s no need to panic. Bejar’s backup plan was teaching, and that still wasn’t her thing. Finally, she took a communications course with Professor Jane Martin.
“I met Jane Martin and immediately felt a connection with her,” Bejar said. “I met with her and cried my eyes out because I felt aimless and unsure and she validated that it was OK to feel that way, it doesn’t mean anything about you. After that, I switched my major to communications.”
Good call? Indeed. Bejar thrived as a writer and was recently promoted to Content Strategist in her second stint working with the creative agency One Lucky Guitar. She loves Fort Wayne and believes the creative talent in the city can stand alongside the best in the country. More than anything else, her ongoing journey should inspire others to keep pushing until they find their calling.
Bejar grew up in East Chicago, Indiana, the oldest of four children. Her parents welcomed Jasmine when they were just 18 and 16 years of age. “I had a very different, interesting upbringing, but they always wanted the best for me,” Bejar said. By the time she reached her high school graduation in 2011, most of her peers were heading to the nursing profession or the local refinery or steel mill. “I didn’t really understand all the opportunities that were available out there,” Bejar said.
After she settled into the communications program at Saint Francis, she excelled in internships and took the advice of mentors such as Martin, former Saint Francis Creative Arts Executive Director Colleen Huddleson and former Saint Francis professor Kristin Miller. They all stressed the need for connections and even convinced Bejar to attend 7 a.m. networking breakfasts where she was one of the few students among many professionals. The move paid off. An internship led to a job with Arts United, which kickstarted her career as communications and community relations manager. A brief stopover with the School of Creative Arts at Saint Francis was followed by an opportunity at One Lucky Guitar. “It was a chance to work at my dream agency,” she said.
Bejar made an impact at One Lucky Guitar for 18 months until—in another one of those crossroads moments young people encounter—she caught a case of curiosity about greener grass or, more accurately, a bigger city. She calls it a “quarter-life crisis.” Bejar decided to move to Indianapolis but wanted her dream job to move with her. This was prior to the pandemic explosion of remote work. Her offer to work remotely did not materialize. So she left One Lucky Guitar. “I wanted to experience a bigger city and it was now or never since I don’t have kids, I’m not married, those sorts of things.”
She worked as a freelancer and then landed a job with the Indiana Arts Commission. She started to hit her stride when the pandemic hit, leaving her alone in a city where she didn’t know many people. “Indy was interesting, but it did reaffirm my love for Fort Wayne,” she said. “Fort Wayne is just the right size for me. You don’t know that until you find out.”
Bejar returned to Fort Wayne and, in a fortuitous turn of events, her old job at One Lucky Guitar reopened. They liked her so much they hired her back. She still loves the work.
“I feel embraced,” Bejar said. “Dreaming big and pushing boundaries is welcome and our clients expect that from us. It is a uniquely creative place to work. There are no limits to what we can do.”