Last month, Kathryn Bernhardt (‘21) traded California’s gold coast for the extraordinary fashion and culinary scenes of Milan, Italy, to begin her time as an au-pair and seize the opportunity to explore the creative and cultural industries of a new city. A recent graduate of Chapman University’s BFA program in Creative Writing and CCI minor, Bernhardt decided to come to Chapman because it was one of the few schools that had its own creative writing program. Additionally, she looks back fondly on her days as a CCI minor where she had the chance to build upon her major and gain insight into new areas of interest which she believes has helped her build a solid foundation for establishing a long-lasting publishing career in the future. As part of our new Alumni in Action series for the blog we wanted to start reaching out and connecting with our CCI grads to see where they are in their post Chapman journeys, and with Bernhardt about to embark on a new chapter in her life, we thought it would be a great time to catch up with her.
PC: Why did you decide to pursue a minor in CCI?
KB: I have a really specialized major so I knew that I didn’t want a minor that strayed from my major completely and was another area of focus; such as science. Rather I wanted to minor in something that complimented my major since I already had a chosen career path that I wanted to pursue and wasn't looking to explore an entirely new subject, which was exactly what CCI offered me. I took a variety of courses that allowed me to look at the publishing industry more deeply and through a different lens and others that allowed me to explore other areas of interest such as museums. One particular course that I took my senior year was an independent study with Dr.Larkin which explored the inner workings of museums and exhibitions and their cultural impacts.
I took this class in the midst of Covid so it was particularly interesting because I got to look at how museums were reacting to the pandemic and what kinds of programs they were implementing to stay relevant within culture and society. Many times people have this negative perception of museums because they claim they’re boring or outdated but Covid really highlighted how these institutions are modern and are constantly changing and staying up with the times– which I don't think is true of all institutions or industries. Despite being online I was grateful to have taken a class where the subject matter was so dynamic and where I was able to deepen my understanding of museums and the tourism industry.
PC: What was your favorite part of the program?
KB: I was able to create really close connections with both the CCI faculty and staff. I think this is true of a lot of programs at Chapman, however I believe that all of the CCI professors are genuinely interested in the kinds of things their students are interested. They take the time to listen to what they want to learn and at times they even tailor their classes to help students understand their interests further. This creates a really strong bond between the professors and their students because it's clear how much they care about them.
PC: I know you're getting ready to go to Italy so tell me a little more about that and how it relates to what you want to do in the future?
KB: I graduated during the pandemic so I decided that I wanted to figure things out at my own pace and moved back home to regroup and wait out the pandemic. Over the last year I’ve worked at three different jobs– one as a substitute teacher, another as a nanny, and lastly as a model at one of my local art galleries. Substitute teaching was a really fun career path that I got to explore because I’ve always loved working with kids and it taught me so much, so if I ever did want to become a teacher I now have a better idea of what kind of grade level I’d want to work with.
With all this being said, the plan after I graduated was to go abroad for at least a year, if not, as long as I could stretch it. So for the last year I’ve been saving up money and waiting for things to reopen and for travel to be safer, and now that that's happened I’m getting ready to go. The reason I’m going abroad is because I am becoming an au-pair based in Milan which is basically a live-in nanny. I know what you’re thinking…It's not exactly career-related but I studied abroad my sophomore year at Chapman and loved it. Ever since then I’ve always known that I wanted to go back so this was the best way for me to do it right now. Au-pairing is very similar to studying abroad, despite the child-care aspect of it because of the immersive cultural experience but also because you have the free time to explore your surroundings while your child is at school or off doing an activity. I can go into the city and write at a local Italian coffee shop, explore museums and heritage sites, and work on what I want during my free time.
PC: How do you think CCI has played a role in your post grad journey?
KB: Like I mentioned, I studied abroad in London my Sophomore year where I mostly took CCI courses. Studying abroad shifted my focus by showing me how many CCI's there are to discover around the world, so the whole time I was abroad I was really thinking about the cultural institutions that I was interacting with– both as a student and as a tourist. I’m super interested in museums so I was going to a lot of museums and heritage sites, and interacting with a lot of the CCI’s on a regular basis. In truth, that’s what a lot of people do when they travel, however, many times they’re not aware of how much the spaces and places that they’re going to and spending time in really affect them. Therefore, I felt like I got to learn a lot about the role that CCI plays in our daily lives while I was abroad.
Ever since going abroad the first time I knew that I wanted to embark on an opportunity that emphasized cultural exchange and one that would allow me to look at the cultural spaces of a new city and see what kind of impact they have on the people that live there. Next year I’m going to be in Ireland for a year and keep that same theme of cultural exchange and exploration of the CCI’s before settling down in my career.
PC: What are your plans for the future/what kind of career do you see yourself pursuing once you come back from living abroad?
My hope is to pursue a career in the publishing industry as an editor, either in Ireland or in New York since it’s the publishing hub of the United States. Eventually I want to write and publish a book of my own as well.
PC: What is your advice for graduating seniors and/or current CCI minors?
KB: Coincidentally a lot of my friends and I who were all in different majors ended up as CCI minors so a lot of us have stayed close post-grad and all felt high pressure to know what our next steps were. Therefore my advice to seniors and every student would be to not be afraid to take some time to figure things out and don’t feel like you immediately have to hop into a job or a career path just because it's there even though it's not what you really want to do. I was scared because some of my friends were immediately getting jobs and having careers and it seemed like they were being better adults than I was but I knew that writing is what I was passionate about and if you're passionate about something then there’s no set timeline for pursuing it. Don’t keep waiting and pushing your dreams aside because you’re scared of failure or feel like you have to secure a job because everyone else is. The opportunity to pursue your dream might not come again so take some time to figure it out and not rush into anything you’re not passionate about.
CCI alumni are known for their inspiring and passionate pursuit of new opportunities and endless exploration of big ideas. Bernhardt is just one example of how members of our community are using CCI to pursue their dreams long after graduation. We want to thank Kathryn for her time and insight on the Creative and Cultural Industries at Chapman, and wish her luck in her travels abroad. If you are a CCI alum with news to share about your post-grad journey, please contact CCI Program Manager at shalvers@chapman.edu or CCI Social Media Coordinator at pcoelho@chapman.edu to be featured.
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