Oakland, CA -- Departing from the Urban Knights red and black to don the silver and black, Academy of Art University women's golfer Melissa Genao has embraced a special opportunity to work as a graphic designer for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League.

"The biggest pleasure in doing what I do is seeing how I can clarify communication and make people's daily lives easier," Genao said. "It gives me deep satisfaction to see how excited and relieved people get when an idea is professionally executed. I think being creative lives in every single job title out there. Therefore I am able to inspire people with their job by doing well at mine."

Genao's route to this opportunity across the bay began one hectic day this past spring semester. Heading to practice feeling overwhelmed by her finals workload, she happened upon a note regarding an internship opening for the Raiders. After pursuing this possibility with an interview, Genao found her portfolio and ability speaking for itself as she had secured not just an internship, but a part-time job for a professional football team.

"It was an abrupt moment," Genao said. "Here I was thinking, 'Woe is me,' but really nothing is ever that serious and it always turns out okay."

Among the numerous logos and flyers for events Genao is currently producing for the Raiders, she also has her hands in a redesign of the ticketing portion of the website as well as www.RaiderImage.com and has been executing a variety of ways to "enhance the way people experience the Raider brand" be it through social media images for contests or gameday email redesigns just to name a few. In her past three years with the Urban Knights, Genao has perfected the skills necessary to embrace such a role.

"At Academy of Art, you learn how to be the best," Genao said. "When you leave, you will be a mentor to others and will feel confident in doing so. Most of us usually scare ourselves into thinking, 'What if they don't like my work?' or 'What if I don't know enough yet?' but you will be far more prepared than you realize. You will be ready, that is, if you do your part as a committed artist-athlete." 

Genao has been highly dedicated throughout her time at ART U and, much like a golf ball calmly rests on a tee, she seamlessly balanced a separate part-time job, the rigors of school, and golf as a senior in 2013-14. Toward the end of last year, Genao offered her services to JSY Public Relations which led to work with TypeOneTwo, an initiative of the Gary Forbes Foundation to help young people living with diabetes. She was an important contributor to the women's golf collective team grade point average, among the highest of any sport, and then closed out her athletic career on a high note with an All-PacWest Second Team honor at the conference championship in Hawaii.

"People are always impressed that you went through your collegiate years as an athlete," Genao said. "Without saying much, it already shows that you made the decision to be associated with an elite group of people. Take all your hard work as an athlete and use it as a badge of honor. Lead the pack!"

Continuing to build a strong bridge with the Oakland Raiders, Genao is the second Urban Knight to work as a graphic designer for the team with ART U Softball pitcher Kimberly Dauer serving as the first in the summer of 2013.

"Melissa is a really hard worker and she is genuinely passionate about graphic design," head coach Elaine Harris said. "It showed throughout the year because she was taking on other part-time jobs, such as her work with diabetes, in addition to excelling on the golf course and contributing to our strong team GPA. I'm really happy for her and proud of what she's doing. She is an exceptional artist-athlete and following in the footsteps of many successful ART U women's golfers."

Advice to the next generation at Academy of Art University? Genao recommends applying one's abilities as soon as possible.

"Life is really confusing at first," Genao said. "And to be honest, it stayed that way until I took a break from the classroom. Getting out into the work field has been such a huge learning curve and has really set my focus. Remember, it all goes by terribly fast! Time is something you can't take back, so don't waste any of it acting foolish. Seize the moment - Carpe diem!"
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