Kelly Sandula-Gruner proves it is never too late to change direction

By Nicole Wadkins
Staff Reporter

For many students, deciding on a career path can feel like deciding what the rest of your life looks like. But Lansing Community College alum Kelly Sandula-Gruner knows firsthand that life does not move linearly. Today, she is the owner of Gruner Graphics, where she works as an independent graphic designer serving clients throughout the Lansing area while also being an active performer and musician.

Long before building a career in design, Sandula-Gruner’s first love was music.  She said that, though she has always loved drawing cartoons and dreamed of becoming a cartoonist or even a Disney animator, it was while in high school in Alpena that she “really caught the bug for music.” From a young age, Sandula-Gruner had studied piano and later, fell in love with the French horn. In high school, she became heavily involved in band programs and traveled with honors ensembles throughout America, Hong Kong, and mainland China. 

After high school, she attended Central Michigan University, where she pursued a Bachelor of Music. “I had the thought to try and double-major with art, but soon realized working toward a music degree was all-consuming,” Sandula-Gruner expressed. “It left very little time for anything else. So, my art sort of fell by the wayside for a few years.” She graduated from CMU in 1998 and was accepted to Michigan State University to pursue a master’s degree.

However, while working toward her degree, she started to reconsider the direction of her future. While she loved music, Sandula-Gruner was burned out and frustrated over a tough career path. She knew that teaching was not the right fit for her and decided not to complete the program. “I think things could have been very different if I had,” she said. “But I believe that one must truly love teaching to dedicate to that career, and that calling was just not there for me.”

Newly married and wanting to stay in the Lansing area, she started to explore different paths. Her search led her to Lansing Community College. “Since I already had a 4-year degree plus some, attending LCC seemed like a really wise and practical decision,” Sandula-Gruner said. “Not only was it far less expensive, but it seemed like the straightest path to get me going.” She enrolled in the graphic design track and quickly realized she had found the right fit.

Even though Sandula-Gruner was amateur cartoonist as a child, she had always admired magazine layouts, typography, and how photos could be arranged to tell a story. “I just didn’t realize this was all graphic design!” she said. “I honestly loved it right from the start, from that first semester at LCC.” Sandula-Gruner credits her professors for helping her launch her new career and described her classes as practical and focused on building real-world skills. She later completed an internship at a design firm near the end of her stay before graduating in 2002.

Afterwards, Sandula-Gruner worked in several short-term design positions before joining a local company, where she remained for 17 years as an in-house designer. There, she was part of a corporate communications team alongside other designers, a technical writer, website developers and translators.

In 2019, she launched her own business, Gruner Graphics. Running a business on her own brought her both freedoms and challenges. She enjoys the flexibility and variety of the projects she works on but, “it’s just me, a business of one, so keeping on top of all the billing and making sure new work is always coming in is by far the most difficult part,” Sandula-Gruner expressed. “I have to put myself out there to always be making new connections.” Still, she loves designing and appreciates how every project brings her something different.

Owning her own business has also allowed Sandula-Gruner to reconnect with music—this time on her own terms. Without the pressure of turning music into a full-time career, the joy of performing returned. She now performs as a singer in Clique Vocals and with Singers on the Grand. She also plays French horn with the Lansing Concert Band, sings with its jazz ensemble, and continues to play piano. “I have accompanied my boys, who are also now talented musicians,” she said. “I also love doing community theater—musicals of course!” Her last two roles were with the Portland Civic Players, playing Maleficent in Disney’s Descendants and Paulette in Legally Blonde.

Looking back, Sandula-Gruner emphasizes that it is okay to change direction when something no longer feels right. “You’ll feel when something’s just not working, and when things click into place,” she said. “And you’ll know when something really energizes you.”