Beyond The Nine-to-Five

Beyond The Nine-To-Five With Kelly Difiglia

Alumna Kelly Difiglia shares her post-grad experiences.

By Hannah-Claire Algood

Many students are satisfied with finding a nine-to-five job that allows them to put Difiglia’s responsibilities as a graphic designer fill only one segment of her day. She wakes up at 5 a.m. for a their talents and passions to use after graduation. However, Kelly Difiglia, a 2016 Graphic Design graduate and competitive member of SCAD’s equestrian team, has maintained her tendency to overachieve and pushes herself to do it all in her life after college. Difiglia now works as Junior Art Director at Revolution Digital in New Jersey, where her projects are centered around branding, web design and social media for companies like Chapstick, NUK and, Dannon. The marketing agency did not have any listed job openings when Difiglia applied, but she landed her position by sending her extensive portfolio and letting her work speak for herself. CrossFit class (thanks to the discipline she learned from four years of Coach Carter workouts.) Her professional day begins at 9 a.m. and involves meetings, brainstorming sessions and working on the steady stream of new projects coming her way. As a student-artist-athlete, Difiglia was always enthusiastic and driven, and as a professional she is able to apply those same qualities when she collaborates with colleagues in the office. At 5 p.m. she is done and an hour later she is out at the barn enjoying an evening ride with her chestnut gelding Helo. It is often 9 p.m. before this alumna settles in for the evening, but Difiglia says she wouldn’t have it any other way.

With a schedule as packed as Difiglia’s, it’s no surprise that she says she values the time management skills she learned at SCAD. She juggled a demanding workload, athletic commitments, and a personal horse all four years of college, and now her life now is no different. (Well, New Jersey isn’t quite Savannah, and nobody can replace Coach Carter.)

While some of her colleagues are shocked by her schedule, Difiglia feels that, “Balancing my own horse and having a career is not that hard. Riding my horse is just like any other necessary life task…it is in my routine and never a burden.”

While other people hardly get any time outdoors, Difiglia is able to unwind on three-mile trail rides with her best equine companion and watch the sunset each night. When asked whether she and Helo had any competitive aspirations in their future, Difiglia responded casually. She and the gelding may seek out the points to qualify for Ariat Finals in coming years but for now they are content to enjoy riding away from the bustle of a career or show arena.

Although Difiglia is enjoying this new chapter of her life, she does miss her friends, teammates, and Gaston, a horse she donated to the SCAD Equestrian program. Her years at SCAD were some of the best and she recognizes that she may never get the opportunity to live with her best friends again.

Post-graduation, everyone scatters on their own paths and it’s difficult not being able to enjoy the highs and wait out the lows together. Despite the nostalgia, Difiglia says, “I am so happy where I am now. I have accomplished more that I thought I would upon graduating.”

“Balancing my own horse and having a career is not that hard. Riding my horse is just like any other necessary life task…it is in my routine and never a burden.”

Photos provided by Kelly Difiglia and Nickki Cramer.