Kat Colon: From Transformed to Transformer

Katherine Colon says her first ambition was to be a comic book artist and her favorite DC superhero is
Catwoman. Kat herself, though, is less like her feline favorite and more of a Transformer, one who
experienced personal transformation and continues to transform herself and her environment.

Kat graduated from PCCC last May with her Associate in Arts degree in Fine Arts. She is currently
pursuing her bachelor’s degree in visual arts at Montclair State University while working part-time as a
marketing assistant in PCCC’s new Center for Student Engagements where her artistic skills are creating
excitement.

“The past year has been transformative for me,” said Kat. Last Fall, for PCCC’s PantherCon event, Kat
redesigned the College mascot, the PCCC Panther, as a superhero wearing sweatpants. “I wanted him to
look like the average student,” explained Kat, endowing her design with the socially relevant message
that students can be the superheroes of their own lives.

Reimagined college mascots by Kat

When Kat chose to attend PCCC, she did so to save money and stay close to home. “I’m a homebody,”
she said. “I grew up in Paterson and became familiar with PCCC when I came here on school field trips.”
Also, some of her high school classmates from Passaic County Technical Institute (PCTI), decided to
attend PCCC after graduation. “It was comfortable to go where I already had friends.”

At PCTI, where Kat was in the design program, her interest shifted from comics to fashion. “My passion
project is to have my own fashion brand someday,” she says. Designers who inspire her run the gamut
from the quirky, colorful Betsey Johnson, to the elegant cool of Moschino, and the unpredictably bizarre
MSCHF, producers of “wavy shoes,” footwear with soles that rise and fall like ocean waves.

Defining her taste as “retro futurism,” Kat blends products and techniques of the past with progressive
purposes. She plans to purchase a 1950’s fridge and likes to sew by hand. She thrives on thrift shops and
on repurposing discarded items and clothing, respecting the environment while giving new meaning to
old clothing and objects.

Kat’s socially conscious goal to change the negative view many people have of urban culture, motivated
an early merchandising success. Raiding her closet for denim clothing she no longer wanted, Kat painted
jackets with designs inspired by the fright film Friday the 13th and the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
She brought several “horror jackets” to a punk-style store in Montclair where the pieces were
immediately accepted and put out for sale.

While she is busy transforming clothing, mascots, and much more, Kat has undergone significant change
herself at PCCC. In the beginning, Kat was not focused on academics and reached a point where she
wasn’t going to even try anymore. “The success coaches here changed that. They encouraged me and
convinced me that I could succeed academically, so I got serious about bringing my grades up.”

Kat found PCCC’s art program to be comfortable and supportive. “Some art schools are very competitive
and intimidating,” she said. “Here, the art professors are really in tune with their students. They get to
know your goals and build your confidence. This helps students become more comfortable with
critiques of their work.”

Working as the Marketing Assistant for the Center for Student Engagement.

Kat’s marketing job at PCCC has also inspired her personal and professional growth, as she works closely with CSE director Dr. IanWolf on projects to transform the student experience at PCCC through creative methods that engage
students more holistically into college life. “I enjoy the work, and I’m also gaining the business skills I’ll
need w hen I start my own fashion brand,” said Kat.

Fueled by the confidence she gained at PCCC, Kat plans to continue her education toward a doctoral
degree in fashion. That’s not all. She cherishes a vision that one day, one of her creations will appear at
the Met Gala, the annual parade of astonishing and inventive fashions modeled by celebrities at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Ask her how a self-descibed homebody came to dream so large and Kat is quick to reply: “Being in a space like PCCC where so many people believe in you helps you to believe more in yourself.”

Learn more about these arts programs at PCCC:

Associate in Fine Arts Degree
Associate in Arts Degree
AAS Degree in Graphic Design