Florida A&M University's Kah'Milah Ledgester decided to go out on a limb and take advantage of two separate design competitions last year, and it paid off beautifully for this graphic design student!

Ledgester entered Target's 2021 "HBCU Black History Month Design Challenge" and JCPenney's "Young, Gifted, and Black Design Challenge" last spring, and Ledgester ultimately won both separate competitions. Resultingly, she earned the chance to have her designs featured in retailers throughout the country.

"I always get a little excited because of the fact that I did the Target challenge, and I also did JCPenney and won both of them. It made me feel very good because I took a chance," Ledgester said. "I remember being in my room drawing this, and I was just, 'Oh, let's see what happens.'"

On top of this tremendous honor, Ledgester—who reps both FAMU and her hometown of Adel, Georgia—received some massive prizes. Target awarded the college senior $3,000 in cash, a laptop, and access to a design boot camp course to further hone her craft. As for JCPenney, the retailer provided Ledgester with $2,000 and access to a professional mentorship program. She also got the opportunity to be featured in a Target commercial late last year.

Regarding her award-winning designs, Ledgester sought to have her Target piece highlight Black beauty in new ways, and she was inspired by Nine Simone's cover of "Strange Fruit."

"I want to capture us, but I want to show how vibrant we are with fruit," she revealed. "Even though 'Strange Fruit' talks about pain, hurt, and how we came through, it highlights the best thing we are able to do as Black women, and that is take that pain and make something out of it."

"There are so many reasons why her artwork stood out," stated Tawnya Artisst, Target's director of Multicultural Product Design and Advancement. "Her illustration was beautiful, and it was so unique. Her color use was joyful and there was a clear story that engaged the judges. The more we learned about her thought process, the more we knew we were looking at a winning design."

As for her JCPenney design, Ledgester focused on personal wellness and featured the phrases "Just Breathe" and "Remember to Exhale."

"Kah’Milah’s design stood out because her design was a thoughtful execution of a way for an individual to improve their mental health. She answered JCPenney’s 'Young, Gifted and Black Design' challenge prompt in a masterful way," said JCPenney senior designer Krystal Ellis. "The graphic had beautiful line work, great color rendering and it was just overall outstanding."

When commenting on her success, Ledgester reflectively said that she was supremely grateful to have had the opportunity.

"You don’t want to look back and say that you wish you would've done something or tried harder. The fact that I can say that I let go, designed something, and created something came to me in a full-circle moment. I gained so much fruit from it—I'm just grateful," she stated.

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