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The drive from Boston to Cleveland is about 640 miles, and well worth making for Anjhelina Marsh.

She lives in Massachusetts, but the Cleveland Institute of Art has become Anjhelina’s college home as she pursues her bachelor of fine arts degree with in Graphic Design — a career for which she seems to have been destined.

“I was really big into reading books as I was growing up,” Anjhelina says. “I would remake book covers. I redid The Perks of Being a Wallflower, I redid Romeo and Juliet, which was fun. I almost did the Twilight book, but then thought, no, I don't think I want to do this.”

Her upbringing made it easy to think of a career in art and design.

“My family is very art-oriented,” Anjhelina says. “We were encouraged to learn about it, so I wasn't afraid to like dive into the deep end of design.”

On a visit to CIA, Anjhelina met Graphic Design Chair Larry O’Neal, who impressed on her that he was “very strict about design principles, about learning the fundamentals of design. You have to learn the basics. I wanted the foundation, and that’s why I chose CIA.”

She also likes the full-time access she gets to instructors.

“I love the faculty. I’m on a first-name basis with all of them,” Anjhelina says. “Basically, they're like my parents. They tell me what I do wrong and guide me. But they don't hold my hand, which is great. I'm allowed to grow and figure out what's wrong myself. They just steer me in the right direction, which I think is beautiful. They want to help, and the fact that they want to help makes me want to reach out to them. The relationship with them is amazing. “