The SOJC advertising senior and Saatchi Scholarship winner reflects on risk, reinvention and trusting her creative voice.
by Kaia Mikulka, Class of ’25
Meet Mary Pham
Favorite SOJC Memory:
Staying up all night in Allen Hall during Media Innovation Lab working on a prototype and presentation for a client pitch.
Biggest Accomplishment So Far:
I’m very proud of the Saatchi Scholarship. But I’m also proud of all of the opportunities pursued — classes, clubs, leadership positions — that helped me find my voice and how I want to show up for myself.
Project That Resonated the Most:
A side project in my Writing Design Concepts class, where I interviewed strangers for 40 days, helped me realize people value kindness, connection and impact more than productivity, and it inspired me to turn that insight into an advertising campaign.
Favorite Place To Get Creative Inspo:
I look at the website Eyecandy to see different shots and cinematic angles if I need storyboarding. I also go on Pinterest for typography, and TikTok and Instagram to see what other people are creating, what the trend is right now and what is cool.
Mary Pham’s college path has been anything but linear. A fourth-year advertising major in the UO School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC), Pham is one of two students nationwide selected for the 2025 Saatchi Scholarship, a $10,000 award that includes a year-long mentorship with a Saatchi & Saatchi professional.
Her journey from a pre-med track to advertising was shaped by risk, reinvention and learning to trust her creative voice.
As a Vietnamese-American student from an immigrant family, Pham’s career journey offers a model of resistance and inspiration for students who may have grown up feeling constrained by familial and cultural expectations.
“I didn’t feel like things clicked for me, and I felt like I was doing pre-med because I knew it was a secure path to provide my family with stability,” Pham said.
The first pivot: Discovering UX through J100
Pham’s first departure from the path she was on began toward the end of her first year when she learned about the Media Innovation Lab, taught by Ed Madison. The class introduced her to client-based campaigns and exposed her to the creative and strategic potential of user experience (UX) design.
“Through that course, I switched gears,” Pham said. “Throughout the summer, I taught myself UX design. YouTube was my best friend. Then I declared my pre-ad major the next year.”
In January of her second year, Pham’s curiosity about UX design led her to join Oregon Software Consulting (OSC), a student-run technical consulting group that partners with Eugene clients to design user-centered digital solutions. At the time, the organization consisted of just four members, and in the spring, she became director of design.
“At this point, I was still self-teaching, but Drew Moulton, OSC president, offered me a position,” Pham said. “He said, ‘I believe in you. I’ve seen your designs. I think you can fulfill this position.’”
In that role, Pham became fully immersed in UX design, leading the design team, facilitating client relationships and applying research-driven methods to real-world projects.
Outgrowing the safe path
When she started taking ad classes in her junior year, Pham soon realized that while UX design had previously been the bridge from stability to creativity, it was now holding her back.
“With UX design, sometimes it’s very monotone,” Pham said. “You need to abide by design systems and UX laws, and the results can all look and feel the same. UX design was the safe option for me because I was constrained by these certain things.”
Over time, the constraints began to feel more confining than comforting. She began to question whether she could stretch her creativity further.
Taking Up Space boosted her confidence
Just as Pham was beginning to feel like she had outgrown UX design, it was a combination of collaboration, mentorship and community that pushed her forward. Through classes, student-led projects and leadership roles, she started building what she calls “the reps” needed to trust her creative ideas.
“I’m still trying to build the reps, but I’m finding myself more comfortable showing my ideas and backing them up, even if I think they’re dumb or not rooted in strategy,” Pham said. “Just saying it out loud, even if it’s bad, has been helping me a lot.”
Courses like Writing Design Concepts, taught by Professor of Practice Tom McDonnell, and Understanding Brands, taught by Advertising Area Director Christine Wise, helped build foundational skills for art direction, and she strengthened those skills through collaborative projects with students beyond the classroom.
“The classes did a really great job of teaching me how to find insight,” Pham said. “But doing work outside the classroom and collaborating with different students and teams has taught me so much. It’s helped me grow and understand how to work with others.”
That growth extended beyond coursework through Pham’s involvement with Taking Up Space, a student organization dedicated to empowering young people of color in advertising through mentorship, workshops and community.
Now serving as co-president, Pham said the group helped her build confidence and a sense of belonging as she continues to explore and grow within advertising.
“Through Taking Up Space, I’m finding my voice,” Pham said. “Working on projects about culture helped me think about how being Vietnamese ties to my identity, and it’s given me the space to connect and work with other BIPOC.”
A campaign rooted in conversation
One of the most formative collaborative experiences for Pham has been a campaign project that began as a research grant led by fellow ad student Cing Dim, which evolved into a full campaign.
Called “Can We Talk?,” the project explores how colonial violence is passed down through generations and how it continues to affect women today. The message is expressed through an animation that centers on a conversation between a mother and daughter, where they share and realize parallels within their own experiences of violence.
“Our goal is to spark conversation and awareness, especially around a topic that is often avoided because of its discomfort, while also providing resources for those who are directly or indirectly impacted,” Pham said. “Working through those ideas, getting stuck, backtracking and going back to the brief helped me grow not just as a strategist, but also as an art director.”
Pham said she is grateful for Dim including her on the project. “I've grown to become a better communicator and art director through the work we’ve done together. A huge thank you to her for helping me grow!”
SOJC faculty ushered her forward
SOJC Professor of Practice Emeritus David Koranda is Pham’s advisor on the project. She credits Koranda with continually pushing her to think further and trust her ideas as she navigated unfamiliar creative territory.
“He’s very wise and really cares about the students, and from the moment I met him, he believed in me,” Pham said. “I used to be very reserved, but he’ll really push me to talk and sell my ideas. It taught me to speak up and build confidence.”
Alongside hands-on project work, Pham found clarity through coursework and ongoing conversations with SOJC instructor Slavka Eberhart-Garah, who has also mentored her through her leadership role as director of strategy at Allen Hall Advertising.“Her advice and feedback consistently push me to think deeper and to really center the emotions and perspectives of the audience I’m working with,” Pham said.
Pham also points to Wise as a key source of encouragement during a period of self-doubt, especially as she navigated imposter syndrome while figuring out her place within advertising.
“She truly believed in me when I did not believe in myself,” Pham said. “I am very thankful she looks out for me.”
Finding power in her own story
It was Wise who believed in Pham enough to send her the application for the Saatchi Scholarship.
When Pham sat down to complete the application, she used it as an opportunity to tell the story of someone who once followed a path defined by stability and expectation but, through baby steps and continual self-questioning, began to believe in her creative ideas and reshape her sense of who she could become.
“I decided to make a video about putting myself out there and being bold,” Pham said. “I talked about stability, generational differences and how this isn’t about healing everything, but about paving a path for me and future generations to do what makes them happy.”
Reflecting on her application process, Pham believes she was selected because she trusted her story and committed to it fully.
“I think it’s about using anything you can to put yourself out there and believe in your story,” Pham said. “Even if you’re still trying to find your voice, talk about that. There’s something unique in your story that will help people see you as human.”
Going all in on what’s authentic
Now in her fourth year, Pham is going all in on art direction. After years of testing, questioning and reshaping her goals, she is learning to trust her instincts and speak up for her ideas.
“When I was a UX designer, I was curious, but I wasn't looking to push beyond that,” Pham said. “With art direction, there’s nothing holding you back. It’s forcing me to think further than what I know. It’s making me continuously curious by allowing me to observe life, culture, media and art much more deeply than I did before.”
For Pham, the journey has been an imperfect yet fulfilling one, about giving herself permission to grow and shed skin constantly, knowing that as long as she is pursuing what is authentic, there is no wrong path to take.
For students wanting to pivot or feeling a disconnect on the path they are on, Pham emphasizes that college shouldn’t be a straight-shot journey like people often think it should be.
Experimenting with different roles, classes and projects is part of the college process, she said.
“College is a playground,” Pham said. “There are so many things you can explore here that you might not be able to after you graduate. Trying different things helps you figure out who you actually are and what you actually want.”
Kaia Mikulka is a 2025 SOJC grad who majored in advertising with a minor in business. Kaia’s current interests include art direction, design and brand identity, and their intersection with AI and human nature.