Natasha Cribbs is a former UA Cossatot student who now works as a graphic designer and illustrator for Phillips Media Group (PMG) in Springfield, Missouri. Cribbs credits UA Cossatot as being a big part of her journey in helping her get to where she is today.

Natasha was born in Waxahachie, Texas. As a child, she grew up in different towns in east Texas. Eventually, Natasha moved to Murfreesboro, Arkansas. In 2012, she graduated from Murfreesboro High School, and then directly went to college at UA Cossatot.

Cribbs said, “I chose to attend school at UA Cossatot because it was affordable.  Plus, I had already taken a class there when I was in high school.”

When asked about her experience at UA Cossatot, Natasha said, “UA Cossatot was a great experience! When I started college, I didn’t even have a car. Going to UA Cossatot made school more affordable and accessible to me. I took all of my classes, either online or at the Nashville Campus. I was also able to take college classes with friends I graduated high school with.”

At UA Cossatot, Natasha chose to take her basics so she could receive her Associate of Arts degree. This degree allowed her to take her general studies courses that she would need to transfer. This degree also allowed her to explore career options while taking required courses and other classes she was interested in, like Creative Writing.

In 2014, she graduated from UA Cossatot and then transferred to Henderson State University. At Henderson, Cribbs ended up majoring in art and design. Natasha said, “I’ve always been interested in art and created art of all kinds. I love it! I knew this career field would make me happy, and I felt it was where I belonged. UA Cossatot also gave me extra time to realize that, while not wasting time and money.”

In March of this year, Natasha Cribbs landed a job working for Phillips Media Group (PMG) where she was hired to work as a Designer/Paginator. PMG works with multiple newspapers in the Missouri and Arkansas area, and Natasha helps these newspapers with their layout and design on a computer. She designs pages and ads primarily in Adobe InDesign and Photoshop, while corresponding with co-workers, and making sure everything gets sent to press.

Natasha Cribbs said, “I love my job! I am also glad that I started my education at a community college. It gave me what I needed at the time, instead of going straight to a university. UA Cossatot was a great school for me to begin my college education. If anyone is thinking about pursuing their education like I did, by starting at UA Cossatot, I would recommend them to look into it and talk to an advisor!”

Natasha is active on social media.  She has social accounts where people can keep up with her art work on Facebook and Instagram.  To view some of her work, please visit Natasha Cribbs - Artist (https://www.facebook.com/NatashaCribbsArtist/) on Facebook and @nalightful (https://www.instagram.com/nalightful/) and @nalightful.photo (https://www.instagram.com/nalightful.photo/) on Instagram.