So, first things first. Who’s Jordyn Burrell?
She’s a photographer, artist, musician and rising creative. And she’s soon to be a student at Denver Ad School (DAD), a 14-month advertising portfolio school. But that’s just a recent addition to her story. She sums it up best herself.
“The likelihood of a Black girl from a single-parent household going to a four-year university is slim. The odds of that four-year university being one of the top public universities in the country are slimmer. The odds of that same Black girl from Charlotte, North Carolina, becoming a creative director for a major advertising agency or company are the slimmest yet, but I am willing to bet it all.”
Jordyn’s “bet” won us over as Nechie and I were reviewing applications for the Jim + Nechie Hall Scholarship, which pays one student’s full tuition to DAD. The first recipient, Piotr Brozyna, just finished up a few months ago. Nechie and I chose Jordyn because we could tell she’s always on her toes. And she’s going to bring a unique and bold voice to advertising.
Among her early accomplishments, Jordyn served as the photographer for Coulture, the University of North Carolina Hussman School of Journalism and Media’s fashion and lifestyle magazine, for three years. She also led an online student organization in creating a pop-up shop for a thematically unified collection of student-made T-shirts, prints and artwork that honored the university’s history.And she’s ready to do more. Ready to step away from the familiar … Jordyn will have to find a new fast-food favorite and something close to her go-to ACP, or arroz con pollo, that she loves in Chapel Hill. And ready to combine all of her interests—pop culture, music, fashion, art—as she learns, grows and builds a professional portfolio in ad school.
Jordyn is also an excellent expression of our purpose with the scholarship: to expand opportunities in advertising for people with nontraditional backgrounds. We know that Jordyn will excel at advertising portfolio school, and we are thrilled to be sponsoring this next step for her.Vladimir Jones is Colorado’s original independent, integrated advertising agency, with offices in Denver and Colorado Springs. We believe in brilliant brands and love making the world love them as much as we do.
