To start off, can you introduce yourself?
My name is Paulina Ashe-Reeder and I am a freshman marketing major here at UNCG. I was born in Long Island, NY and raised in the Queen City AKA Charlotte, NC.
Now, I know you have launched multiple brands, The Classmate and Illusive, can you tell me how you got started building your brands?
I’ve been working on my t-shirt line “illusive” since my freshman year of high school. I started it because I wanted to make a quick buck and I also thought that a lot of the tee shirts that people were selling weren’t really original at all. My passion made people want to buy more shirts, more than the actual designs did. All of the marketing, shoots, and other factors were done by myself and that gave me an opportunity to mold my ideas into what I put out to everyone. As far as “The Classmate” goes, I was trying to grow my writing skills and enhance the content I was putting out when I created it. It’s fun, I love having all of my work in one area and being able to stretch the range in which I reach others.
How do you balance building your brands and just starting out on your college career?
It’s hard, very hard and it’s easy to slip up here and there, but I’ve really been working on my time management and consistently producing quality content because you never know who is reading and or watching. I feel like I have people to reach and putting off on my creative endeavors means that I can’t connect with them. So whenever I feel overwhelmed I try and remember that.
What do you use keep you motivated to continue to build your brands, as well as continue to do well in school?
The fact that so many people don’t ever get the opportunity to step foot on a college campus let alone attend one motivates me everyday. It’s like how dare I complain about my blessings? It can be hard sometimes but I know that God brought me here for a reason and doing anything less than what I know I can do would be disrespectful to Him.
Who in your life do you look up to or who encourages you the most?
My mom and basically all the women in my life encourage me the most. I come from a family of women who never wait on anyone else to get things done and they don’t take crap from anyone. To label them as strong would be an understatement. I know when I’m at my lowest I can call my mother, grandma, or aunt and not only will they lift my spirits but they remind me of God’s promise to never leave me. It’s important to have those type of people in your life!
Can you give me your favorite quote, scripture or song lyric that you use for motivation?
My favorite quote/movie line is “Do what you gotta do so that you can do what you wanna do” by Denzel Washington. This motivates me to get the hard work done so that I can enjoy the fruits of my labor in the future.
And finally, how do you feel UNCG has shaped you thus far as a person, but also as an up-and-coming entrepreneur?
I’m only in my freshman year but UNCG has been a great aid thus far in shaping who I want my adult self to be. In this past year I’ve really focused in on making better habits for myself so that the next 3 years will be as smooth as possible in the classroom and in my entrepreneurship initiatives.
All Photos taken by Paulina Ashe-Reeder