Paige Cooper

I really attribute a lot of my success to being surrounded by incredibly influential women throughout my life. My mom is a teacher, and growing up I always saw firsthand the impact education had on her students and the difference she was making in people’s lives. She taught me that if you truly love something, you’ll find a way to make it work and build a career out of it.

That mindset is honestly what pushed me to pursue an undergraduate degree in visual art in the first place, which definitely isn’t the most traditional path. My mom was always realistic with us — she made it clear that I would need to come up with a plan and figure out how to turn that passion into a career — but she never discouraged it. She always told us that if you’re passionate enough about something, you’ll find a way to make a living doing it.

As I’ve grown throughout my career, I’ve always tried to be that kind of influential and supportive woman for others too.

I also had a really impactful mentor early in my career who encouraged me to keep pushing myself every three to four years by taking on something new or different. That didn’t necessarily mean changing jobs, but finding ways to evolve within my role, add new responsibilities, challenge myself, and continue growing. That advice really shaped the way I approached my career and pushed me outside of my comfort zone in the best way. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t have even taken the leap to apply for the role I’m in today without that guidance.

The best career advice I ever received came from a really great mentor early on in my career. They told me that every three to four years, I should be pushing myself to grow, evolve, or try something different. That doesn’t always mean changing jobs — sometimes it means staying in the same role but finding new ways to challenge yourself, take on different responsibilities, build new skills, or rethink what you’re doing.

That advice really stayed with me throughout my career and honestly helped shape the path I’ve taken. It pushed me to step outside of my comfort zone, take on opportunities I may not have otherwise pursued, and continue growing instead of getting too comfortable. I probably wouldn’t have even taken the leap to apply for the role I’m in today without that guidance.

If you have a passion for something, just pursue it. I really don’t think you should let anything stand in your way. My mom always taught my brother and I that if you truly love something, you’ll find a way to do it and build a life and career around it. That mindset is honestly what pushed me to pursue an undergraduate degree in visual art in the first place, which definitely isn’t the most traditional degree path.

At the same time, she was always realistic with us too. She made it very clear that if I was going to pursue something creative, I needed to have a plan and figure out how to turn that passion into a career. But she always believed that if you’re passionate enough about something, you’ll find a way to make a living doing it.

So if you’re passionate about higher education, education in general, web, design, or really anything, just keep pursuing it through different avenues and opportunities. You never really know where your path is going to lead you.

I loved web and design, but I also loved teaching, and when I first started my career in higher ed, I was actually working in athletics, which seems like a very unexpected starting point looking back now. But even within that role, I found ways to weave in pieces of what I loved — doing a little bit of web work, a little bit of design, teaching here and there — and over time all of those experiences eventually led me to where I am today. You never really know where those different experiences are going to take you.

There is so much opportunity in the web field right now because we live in such a digital-first world. Everything is moving online, things are evolving constantly, and technology is changing incredibly fast. The web world especially changes so quickly that it can honestly be hard to keep up sometimes, but that’s also what makes it so exciting and why I love working in this space so much.

You’re never really bored in web because there is always something new happening — whether it’s new trends, new technologies, changes in accessibility and compliance standards, shifts in user behavior, or entirely new ways people are interacting with digital content. You’re constantly learning, adapting, and finding ways to improve and evolve your websites and digital experiences.

I think that’s what makes this field so exciting right now. Because the digital world is continuing to grow and change so rapidly, there’s just so much opportunity for people who are passionate about web, design, strategy, user experience, and digital communication.

The values that are most important to me in both my work and personal life are passion, creativity, growth, and making a meaningful impact. I’ve always wanted the work I do to actually help people in some way, whether that’s through education, creating better digital experiences, teaching students, or supporting organizations that are making a difference.

I also really value continuous growth and challenging myself. I never want to feel stagnant, which is probably why I’ve always gravitated toward web and higher education because both fields are constantly evolving and pushing you to learn new things.

Creativity is another huge value for me. Even though my career path shifted from visual art into web and higher ed, I still get to use creativity every single day, whether that’s through design, strategy, problem-solving, or teaching.

On a personal level, family is incredibly important to me as well. A lot of what drives me is creating a life where I can do meaningful work that I love while also being present for my family and raising my two little ones. Balancing everything can definitely be busy, but having work that I’m passionate about and that aligns with my values makes it all feel really fulfilling.