A 2006 graduate of Schoolcraft College with an associate degree in Web design, Leighann Staknis hopes to go into music promotion and event planning one day.

“Music is how I get through life. It inspires me,” she said. “I get excited about every aspect of it.” This fall, Leighann will attend Eastern Michigan University to study public relations and marketing.

While at Schoolcraft, Leighann served as Student Activities board president, as well as a student assistant in the Continuing Education and Professional Development office. “I picked up really good event planning skills and met a lot of people through my involvement with Student Activities,” she said. “Today, when I go on a job interview, companies seem to be interested in the fact that I have Web design experience. They ask me to help them with their Web pages.”

Leighann said her time at Schoolcraft helped her become a more independent person. “When you come to college, you don’t have a ton of friends in place. You can’t lean on your old high school friends. Those days made me realize how much I really could do on my own.”