Conversations with Jaden Rice

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jaden Rice.

Hi Jaden, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story begins in a place many wouldn’t expect. My time in West Michigan started on the volleyball court at Grand Valley State University. I was a committed athlete, playing on the varsity team and dedicating nearly every moment to my sport. At the time, I believed athletics were my entire identity. However, something was missing. I felt extremely unhappy in my sport as it did not allow me to pursue other passions. I began to realize there were other parts of myself I hadn’t fully explored.

By the end of my junior season, after facing a number of personal challenges and moments of reflection, I made the difficult decision to step away from the sport that had defined me for so long. It was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made, but also one of the most liberating. I knew I wanted to pursue something new. Not long before I left athletics, the former president and founder of 494 Fashion, Sophia Gafa, approached me. She remembered the first email I sent as a transfer student, expressing my interest in joining the club. She said my passion stood out to her in that simple and short message. At that time, I was new to campus, feeling isolated and searching for a sense of community outside of sports. I had always loved fashion and the creative world, so when I discovered 494 Fashion, I knew it was something I needed to be part of. I found out 494 existed by accidentally landing on our university’s student organization list page. Because 494 Fashion Magazine Club started with a number, it was the first one on the list, otherwise I would have completely missed it!

I was incredibly nervous before my first meeting. I vividly remember calling my friend for a hype-up talk, as I thought everyone in the club dressed so cool and had much better style than me. Looking back now, it is surreal to think I am leading the organization and helping shape its future. Running this club has taught me more than I ever imagined. I learned so much about leadership, about managing a team of creative, inspiring individuals, and about overcoming challenges with no blueprint in front of me.

From the beginning, I had one major goal: to hold a printed fashion magazine in my hands. It is something no one has ever done before at Grand Valley. I wanted to create a tangible representation of student creativity and show that the fashion scene here is alive, vibrant, and worthy of recognition. More than that, I wanted to create a space for like-minded people that was safe and supportive. The creative community in West Michigan is small, so I strived to create a community where passionate students from all backgrounds and interests could come together and just be themselves. I also hoped to spark a larger conversation at the university. Our goal was to push for recognition of fashion as an academic and cultural force, whether through a minor, a major, or simply greater institutional support.

When I first took over, the club had around 12 members. Today, we have a community of about 60 and counting. We’ve published our first-ever magazine, hosted our first fashion show, and partnered with local thrift stores, designers, and other student organizations. 494 Magazine, for me, started out as something to fill my time after leaving the world of athletics. I would have never guessed how much this club would serve me in the end by providing me a sense of community, purpose, and fulfillment.

What started as a passion project has grown into something that serves and inspires others. I’ve received messages from people saying how much 494 means to them, and while it was intimidating to lead, the impact made it all worth it.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Running 494 Fashion Magazine Club has been anything but smooth. It has been a journey full of challenges, growth, and a lot of late nights. When I first stepped into the role of president, there was no blueprint. The club was small, and no one before me had done anything like what I was trying to build. I had to learn everything from scratch: how to run meetings, plan events, create budgets, even how to book rooms on campus. From big ideas to the minute details of the club, I had to do extensive research and take quite a lot of time to create a structure that would work for our organization.

As mentioned, our club stood at twelve people at the beginning of it all. Therefore, my vice president, Faith Matheson, and I were carrying the weight of it all. We handled weekly presentations and promotional materials to managing club logistics, designing events, and recruiting new members. We especially focused on younger students to build a future for the club, but that also meant there weren’t many upperclassmen to step into leadership roles yet.

The biggest challenge of all was launching the magazine itself. We didn’t have the funding, and as a fashion and special interest club, we weren’t exactly prioritized. I had to build a pitch, almost like Shark Tank, to convince the university to support not only us as a club, but me as a President and a leader. I had to prove that this magazine was going to get done no matter what, and that it would serve a wide variety of students in so many ways. It would not only be a piece of art, but also a resume builder, a portfolio piece, and an overall proof of commitment, determination, and passion.

Meanwhile, I was a full-time senior, juggling five classes, final projects, and my capstones. I also had a part-time job to support myself, often doing homework and club work during shifts as a server. My grades took a hit, and I had to have real, vulnerable conversations with professors just to make sure I could still graduate on time. On top of all that, I was teaching myself how to create a magazine — learning Adobe InDesign, binding styles, layouts, bleed lines, vendor sourcing — all with no formal training and no dedicated graphics team.

On top of all that, the fashion show and magazine launch event brought its own set of challenges: organizing talent, securing equipment, managing timing, and even designing and walking in my own look, all while ensuring the magazine would be printed and delivered in time. I was managing multiple timelines, multiple people, and multiple expectations, all at once. Not to mention, my finals week started the following Monday.

Above all one of the hardest parts was making sure every creative involved felt seen and valued. Everyone had a vision, and it mattered deeply to me that their work was represented properly. That required countless meetings, tough conversations, and a willingness to accept when things didn’t go as planned. There were moments of failure — a lot of them. But I learned from every single one by communicating the reality of my mistakes with my club members and directors..

Looking back, the biggest obstacle was maintaining my sanity and health through it all. People often don’t see the behind-the-scenes work that involved missing numerous classes, the 3 a.m. edits, the emotional toll, and the overall pressure to deliver promises and meet expectations. I started this journey without being taken seriously, but I had to prove — through action, resilience, and relentless belief and consistency — that this club, this magazine, and this vision mattered.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As a fresh 22-year-old college graduate, I’m just now starting to discover who I really am and what I am passionate about. For now, that’s 494. It is the biggest thing I want to be known for and the thing that sets me apart so far. I built this club from the ground up and got the ball rolling on something I believe will last far beyond my time at Grand Valley. I poured in countless hours, stayed consistent, and showed relentless determination to make sure everything ran smoothly by the end of the semester, despite all the failures, mistakes, and imperfections along the way.

In terms of work, I don’t have much else to show yet. These accomplishments are merely my starting point. 494 is the beginning of everything for me. It’s what I’ll take with me, grow from, and use as both a resume builder and a portfolio piece to help me find a career in this industry. I’m still finding my way in the creative world, working to break free from the traditional corporate path. As President of a fashion magazine club, people often assume I have an extensive background or experience in fashion or design. But really, what I bring to the table is the ability to manage people. I graduated Grand Valley with a Supply Chain Management Degree. What sets me apart is my ability to flex between the business and the creative world, almost merging them together to create a synergistic structure and system that allows for creative freedom, but also prioritizes goals and gets things done.

I want to use these skills in the next phase of my life, whether that’s in creative management or creative direction. My goal is to help enhance creative spaces and support companies that value originality and innovation. I’m known for being open-minded and able to work with a wide variety of personalities, behaviors, cultures, and backgrounds. Even though I don’t have one specific niche in fashion, I love the industry as a whole and the freedom it gives people to break out of expectations and do what they love.

I have been extremely blessed and given so much in my own life. I find joy now in seeing people thrive in what they do by giving them a platform to do so. At Grand Valley, I strived to do just that. I successfully brought people together, built a magazine, and created a community that genuinely impacted lives on campus. More than anything, I’m proud that I proved to myself I’m worth more than what I once believed. I lost a lot of confidence and self worth during my time in athletics. I am glad that leading 494 instilled a new sense of individual purpose and success. In the end, I want to be remembered as someone who was kind, curious, open to learning, and humble enough to grow from her mistakes. Someone who led with humility, but also strength and confidence. Someone who did not walk away when higher-ups told her no or gave her troubles. Someone who believed in herself and in her abilities until the she achieved what she wanted to do. I may have had to break a couple of rules along the way. 🙂

Who else deserves credit in your story?
There are so many people who deserve credit for helping me get to where I am today. First and foremost, I want to thank my mom. She was by my side from the very beginning, through every text, phone call, and breakdown. We both knew that taking on this much work would be overwhelming and near impossible. I was juggling a full course load, a part-time job, and leading a club with no guidance or experience. Still, she never discouraged me. Instead, she supported me unconditionally and became someone I could lean on when things felt like too much. We had an unspoken agreement: when I broke down, she’d be there, and she always was.

I also owe a huge thank you to all of my professors. This semester was the hardest of my academic career. My grades slipped, and at one point, I truly feared I wouldn’t graduate on time. But my professors at Grand Valley gave me grace. They saw how passionate I was about what I was building outside the classroom. They worked with me, supported me, and helped make sure I could walk across that stage. For that, I’m forever grateful.

Another group I deeply appreciate is everyone who helped behind the scenes at Grand Valley: the RSO office, student funding, catering, promotional services, event services, and our magazine vendor. When I didn’t know how to do something (which was often), these were the people who showed up with answers. The student finance and funding teams especially deserve a shoutout. They believed in us and gave us the financial support to make the magazine and our end-of-year event a reality. Without them, none of it would’ve been possible.

I also want to thank my co-workers and my manager, Kait, at my job. Balancing work with everything else was incredibly tough, but I had the support of an amazing team. My co-workers rearranged shifts and picked up for me when I needed time to study or finish projects. Kait was truly one of my biggest advocates. She let me work on homework and magazine tasks during my shifts, stayed late with me when I needed to cram for exams, and always reminded me she was proud of me. She saw how much this meant to me and supported me through every high and low. That kind of understanding is rare, and I’ll never forget it.

I’m also grateful for the Grand Rapids creative community. This includes the local thrift stores, designers, and businesses who believed in our work and collaborated with us. Some businesses include Second Vibess, Rewind, and Otono. Their support validated what we were doing and gave us credibility in a bigger space. I want to recognize student organizations like Model Entertainment, Photography Club, and Brains and Beauty, too. They helped provide models and makeup support during our fashion shows and shoots, and showed what is possible when students unite creatively.

To the members of 494: my team, my directors, and the people who stayed committed through the chaos. Thank you. We lacked structure at times. We failed a lot which cause periods of high stress, but you stuck around, believed in our mission, and gave what you could despite your own busy lives. I never expected perfection, just heart and communication, and you all brought that in every way.

And finally, I have to thank my vice president and right-hand, Faith Matheson. Faith was with me through every all-nighter, every last-minute scramble, every setback. When I was down, she lifted me. When she needed a break, I stepped in. We built this together. She believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself and made sure my work was seen and appreciated. Her humility, strength, and loyalty were unmatched, and I couldn’t be prouder to pass the baton to her as the next president of 494. She’s going to do amazing things — I already know it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: 494_mag