By day, Beth Cody is a legal recruiter in Silicon Valley, connecting attorneys and top legal talent with fast-growing tech startups.

When she’s not working—or playing tennis with one of the top women’s teams in Northern California—she’s making art in her home studio in Palo Alto.

“For me, art has always been my first priority in life,” she says. “Even though I couldn’t spend as much time with it as I wanted while building a career, it was always there. I went to law school and became a lawyer, but the road not taken was always art.”

After years of balancing a demanding professional life with her creative passions, Cody found her way back to that road through her art studies at PAFA.

“We’re doing this because we love it,” she says. “We want the education, the growth—and it really does pay off," Cody said. “All of us in the program feel like our art practice has become so much more sophisticated and we’re ready for galleries’ and shows and those kinds of things."

Her experience at PAFA combined the rigor and community of an intensive fine arts education with the flexibility she needs to keep her career and creative practice in harmony. She describes her time in Philadelphia as immersive and inspiring, surrounded by artists who are equally passionate about their work.

“We come here for eight weeks and then during the rest of the year we report from our home studios,” she said. “We have critiques online over Skype, and then we also send films of our work so they are constantly keeping track of what we’re doing which is great.”

After taking art classes at her local recreation center and community college, and going on several Plein Air painting trips to France, Cody realized she wanted a deeper education to expand her technical skills and theoretical understanding—and found that at PAFA.

“It was great for me because I wish I could do this forever,” she said. “It’s so special to be here.”

For the eight weeks that Cody and her fellow classmates are at PAFA, they can tune out the outside world and focus on their work. Cody jokes that her husband tries to keep in touch during the summer but she often forgets to call him back.

“A lot of people are away from their kids, they’re away from their families and having to do the laundry and keep up with other things,” she said. “So while we’re here we work a lot.”

PAFA faculty, alumni, and students are deeply involved with local galleries and cooperative spaces, and Cody is part of this vibrant community and network of artists across the country and around the world.