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John Koehler is a visual artist and book publisher who was drawn to VCU for its diversity and rigorous art program. A communication arts and design major, thanks to his education, he says he graduated with the “jet fuel” to become the artist and entrepreneur he is today. Learn about his journey of art, entrepreneurship and paying it forward. 

How did you choose VCU?

I always had art talent, but I didn’t take an art class until my senior year in high school. So there I am, with freshmen art students, and my teacher, Ms. Woodhouse, who I still love, saw my talent. I’d do artwork and sell it to teachers or the ladies in the school office. I thought that I was pretty much God’s gift to all artists and I was going to become an illustrator. I think Ms. Woodhouse told me about VCU. It was the only school I applied for. 

It had a city feel and yet it was a small town at the same time. You could go to the Fan or Shockoe Slip – it was cultured. It was a cool place to be. All comers, regardless of their background, gender, race, color, beliefs, [were welcome] at VCU. 

For an average white boy from Virginia Beach, that was a true education. That’s part of what college is about, being exposed to life and people from different walks of life. 

How has VCU contributed to what you do and who you are today?

So I started at VCU and found oh, there’s a whole art world and there’s some really talented people. Maybe I’m not all that? It actually motivated me. 

I’m a big believer in being a Renaissance man. The cool thing about VCU is that the demands were high in the art foundation program. You get your feet wet in lots of different areas. You may never plan on making a sculpture, but you get some understanding of how it’s done. If you’re going to be a painter, [you] learn about the graphic design side. I remember Nancy Strube taught about color and drove us all freaking crazy. But guess what? I learned the actual science of the art.

After VCU, I completed the graphic design graduate program at George Washington University and worked my way up as an art director at the biggest ad agency in the D.C. area. I would look at ads in magazines and think, I can do better than that. So I started my own company. 

Don’t wait for permission to be entrepreneurial. If you have talent and any business sense, just hang a sign and do it (the sign can be digital). 

I also led a ministry for kids with disabilities called Young Life Capernaum. I did that for five years, sold the company then started Koehler Books [based in Virginia Beach]. Now my favorite thing is helping authors. Artists have the ability to see things, to see life, to behold it and translate it in ways that most people cannot.

It ain’t about making money, it’s about sharing your talent with the world and making it a better place because of your personal vision. 

Why should people stay connected with their alumni chapter?

To have the VCU connection, to meet and just enjoy each other. And if we’ve succeeded in our lives, there’s a God-given possibility of helping other people; that could be thought of as giving financially or giving advice. We are all given an opportunity to pay it forward because it ain’t gonna end with you. It’s just a ripple effect.

Anything else you’d like to share?
God has poured into me all my life, and VCU took the biblical expression “all things are possible” and just gave me jet fuel. It helped me to believe in myself. It showed me that I can help other people.

Remember, there is nothing that you cannot do. Seek and you shall find. Ask and it will be given to you. 

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