In her senior year as Mia Fan Jiayin '23 was preparing to graduate with a double major in Interactive Media Arts (IMA) and Social Science (Psychology), she saw an ad for a sales assistant job at Freitag, a sustainable fashion brand from Switzerland. Mia immediately applied and was offered a job. Unexpectedly, on the same day she received an acceptance letter to a master’s program at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands. Taking the road less traveled, she gave up the grad school offer and decided to take a gap year to work full-time as a sales assistant. Mia courageously took the road less traveled.
Why did you choose to study at NYU Shanghai?
When I was in high school at Pudong Foreign Languages School, I knew of many outstanding alumni who chose NYU Shanghai. They were not the conventional straight A students in my high school, but rather actively engaged in all sorts of student activities that broadened their horizons and emphasized comprehensive skill sets – Model United Nations, extracurricular clubs, etc. I always regarded these types of students as my role models.
During Candidate Weekend, I was deeply impressed by the cutting-edge technologies and installations, as well as the immersive learning environment at the IMA Studio in the Century Avenue campus. Coupled with my interest in psychology since high school, I decided that I would double major in IMA and Social Science (Psychology). Thanks to my academic advisor’s detailed individualized course plan, I graduated on time despite the heavy workload.
What had the biggest impact on you at NYU Shanghai?
NYU Shanghai has such diverse opportunities and rich resources. I was curious to try almost everything. I worked at University Communications, Library, and Admissions Office as a student worker; I did summer research funded by the Deans' Undergraduate Research Fund (DURF) twice, and presented my research results in creative forms such as video and hologram. I also worked as a Residential Assistant, organizing events to engage students and help them form a close community.
The low student-to-faculty ratio allows students to build close academic and personal connections with professors, which plays a formative role in our undergraduate studies.
Associate Arts Professor of Interactive Media Arts (IMA) Marcela Godoy supervised my undergraduate thesis and junior-year DURF project. Since we share a passion for sustainability, we’ve kept close contact after I graduated.
Our discussions on eco-friendly bag designs inspired her and she collaborated with other departments to collect discarded campus banners and re-make them into bags, hosting workshops for students to get hands-on experience designing and making their own bags and partnering with a nonprofit organization to produce bags for sale.
These experiences showed me that what I value the most in my work is not the nature of the work per se, but whom I can work with – which is also exactly why I finally chose to take the job at Freitag.
What did you gain from your gap year experience working as a sales assistant?
This is not a popular choice in China, where people tend to think of white-collar work as superior, especially for graduates from prestigious universities. Most people around me supported my decision, but some also worried that such repetitive work would be tedious, and that perhaps it was not worth giving up the grad school offer for.
I understood their concerns, and appreciated their suggestions. But I was already planning to take a gap year to reflect on my past four years and readjust. I was so impressed by the interviewers – my future colleagues– that I immediately knew these were people with the same vibe and I definitely wanted to work with them! I just followed my heart.
The year as a Freitag sales assistant proved to be truly unforgettable and inspiring. Ever since childhood, I have grown up with a vague idea that making a living with one’s own hands is truly respectful. After this experience, I became more convinced.
Through frequent direct contact with customers, I made close observations of different personalities. There were chic influencer-type customers asking us to show our “most unique” bag. There were also quiet customers who barely interacted with us. Gradually, I became clearer about the type of person I would like to be.
More importantly, I found that compared with office workers, sales assistants are able to identify emerging problems and trends immediately. I had a clearer idea of how to differentiate our brand from other similar brands and how to expand our influence while retaining loyal customers. I was also surprised by my colleagues’ wisdom, which was often more effective than business strategies decided on in the office. I saw that if I was sensitive enough, I could detect new trends.
Though my colleagues had vastly different backgrounds from mine – they came from all over China, and mostly worked as baristas before – I found we had a lot in common. When I was reading a self-published feminist book Why Don’t You Show Your Anger?, I found that our reading interests were very similar: feminism, psychology, philosophy, fiction.We even set up a public bookshelf in the staff lounge! We discussed podcasts, coffee, and they’ve brought me hiking… Our relationships and discussions were totally on the same page and perfectly equal. They became my friends and I was inspired by their courage.
The following year, you reapplied and were accepted into the same master’s program. Why did you choose to study Design for Interaction?
Design for Interaction emphasizes hands-on skills heavily, and students can produce actual physical results for their projects, which is exactly what I value. Moreover, it highlights observations of human-human interactions or beyond-human interactions, which I, with my background in social science and psychology, can delve deeper into. And after I studied away in Berlin in my junior year, I fell in love with Europe, and I’d been yearning to return.
The reason why I only applied to this one program was mainly due to my stubbornness. When I first applied, I was not quite satisfied with my portfolio. The second time, I told myself if I refined my portfolio to better present my authentic self, and they still made me an offer, then that meant we were truly a match.
What’s your advice for NYU Shanghai students?
Just try out every opportunity possible when you are still a student. NYU Shanghai has high fault tolerance where you can explore your interest extensively before joining the workforce. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help. NYU Shanghai has all sorts of resources and people to provide individualized support and targeted assistance.