Dashiell Vandervloed

Dashiell “Dash” Vandervloed is using the support from Seattle Promise to pursue his dreams of working in graphic design. He says the decision to take advantage of Promise arose from a memory of his father teaching him to ride a bike as a small child. “He taught me how to balance and pedal and everything and as he was giving me one last literal push to get me moving, the strain hurt his back just as I was peddling away. I felt responsible, so taking advantage of Promise is, to me, a way I can avoid putting another strain on him as he gives me that last push into college.” 

The Garfield High School grad says his parents have been a huge influence in his life: he credits his interest in design to his mother, an art teacher, and his father, who works in design and architecture. “My mom taught art at my elementary school and viewing blueprints my dad would bring home was always interesting to me, from an interior design aspect. They took me to art shows, exhibits, and I enjoyed punk shows with my dad, which  all influenced me.” 

Dash would go on to find his own forms of creative expression, including photography and graphic design, after taking related classes in high school. “Not just the photography, but the editing work is really enjoyable as well,” he explained. “Color correcting and making the colors pop has a lot of the same undertones as graphic design, making the work pleasing to the eye, you know?” 

As his high school graduation approached and he began to think seriously about what to do next, Seattle Promise was a natural choice for Vandervloed. As the second of three children, he was keenly aware of the potential financial burden tuition could be, both for him and his parents. “There was no reason not to, right? It sounded like the perfect opportunity for what I wanted to do. It saves me a lot of money on tuition, it gives me a few years to think about what I want to do and to get where I’m going. It opened new opportunities for me, and it gave me a goal to work toward while I’m figuring myself out.” 

This, in turn, led directly to his involvement with the Seattle Promise Peer Mentor and Ambassador Programs, based on his experiences at Summer Bridge, where he got the chance to work with staff. Thanks to a childhood heavily involved with community service through his parents, it seemed like a natural fit. “Going to events, talking to people and sharing my story, I think it’s really important.” 

Today Vandervloed is thriving at Seattle Central College, where he helps run events for his fellow Promise students while using his graphic design skills to create collateral for the college. He is confident knowing he has saved his family and himself thousands of dollars in tuition and is excited to transfer to either WSU to study interior design or the UW for communications design. 

Unwilling to let himself be limited to a single career path, he sees a wide array of applications for a solid foundation in visual design and is excited to explore potential career paths. “Without Promise I would have had no idea what I was doing in my first year of college. I feel like this was the perfect steppingstone between high school and a four-year college.”