SENIOR PROJECT
SHAKER LIFE | FALL 2014 45
•Dayzia Gadson
SPONSOR: Lisa Hamilton,
Owner, Olivia Marie Designs
Dayzia Gadson has always loved art, so when it came to picking
a Senior Project, a creative experience was at the top of her list.
When her advisor recommended she work with Lisa Hamilton,
owner of Shaker-based Olivia Marie Designs, Gadson jumped
at the opportunity.
Olivia Marie specializes in custom-designed stationery,
invitations, and gifts for all occasions, from weddings to bar
and bat mitzvahs and most everything in between. Hamilton
started the business in 2006, after years of making stationery
for her own friends and family. “Everyone loved it, so it turned
into a full-fledged business,” explains Hamilton, who’s also a
Shaker Schools parent.
For Gadson, now a freshman at Hampton University, it
was a fast-paced lesson in what it takes to make a go of a small
business. “I really got to see how the business runs,” she says.
That included meeting with clients and suppliers, even
stepping in to help with production. Says Hamilton: “There is
so much more to a business than just the creative side, and I
think Dayzia got to experience that.”
Working with Hamilton also got Gadson pondering how
to turn her own art into a business. At Shaker High, Gadson
took every jewelry-making class offered. Last spring, one of
her works was featured in the High School’s literary and arts
magazine, Semanteme.
“When I saw those classes as a freshman, I remember
thinking, ‘I want to do that,’” recalls Gadson. “Senior Project
has really encouraged me to think about having my own
business one day.”
•Yuxuan Fan
SPONSOR: Juanjuan Ran,
Chinese teacher, Lomond School
For Yuxuan Fan, Senior Project was a chance to learn more about
the language she’d grown up with.
When Fan was four years old, she immigrated to Cleveland
from China, first to the Shaker Square area and then to Shaker
Heights. “We continued to speak Chinese because my parents
pretended they couldn’t speak English when they were at home,”
explains Fan. As a result, Fan is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.
Still, the idea for a Senior Project that involved her native
tongue never occurred to Fan. “I was actually really confused
about what to do for Senior Project,” she recalls. “Then my mom
reminded me that Shaker has a Chinese language program, so I
figured I would help a Chinese teacher.”
She reached out to Juanjuan Ran, a teacher at Lomond
Elementary School, who was happy to have Yuxuan’s assistance.
“She helped me have more time to work with students one on
one,” says Ran.
For Fan, working with Ran and the first-through-fourth
grade students at Lomond was rewarding. For one, her Chinese
improved. “Since I only speak Chinese at home, I only know my
parents’ dialect,” says Fan. “Juanjuan helped my pronunciation
and also taught me more words and some idioms.”
But Fan, who’s now enrolled in Case Western Reserve
University’s Pre-Professional Scholars Program – which
guarantees a spot at the medical school after graduation – says
she also got some unexpected career training.
“Working with elementary school students will help when
it comes to dealing with some of my future patients,” Fan notes
with a smile, then adds: “But the best part is that the kids all liked
me. When they went up to hug Ms. Ran, they also hugged me.”
Lisa Hamilton, owner of Olivia Marie Designs, advises Dayzia Gadson
about the design options for a client’s invitation.
Although Yuxuan Fan (right) intends to study medicine at college, not
education, she found her experience working alongside Lomond
Elementary Mandarin teacher Juanjuan Ran to be immensely rewarding.