Recent Jewelry & Metalsmithing graduate Grace Barden (BFA 2026, Studio Art) is the first apprentice jeweler to receive the Advanced Apprenticeship Graduate certification from Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America’s (MJSA) Mentor & Apprenticeship Program.
Recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor, the program is designed to give students a chance to work with professional jewelers and have career-building experiences over the span of fifty weeks.
Barden began interning with Jost Jewelers during summer 2025. At the end of her internship, she approached the company and asked to participate in the program. Barden completed eighteen projects ranging from stone setting to 3-D modeling, managing to complete the program in just nine months.
“The projects hit a lot of fundamental techniques that every bench jeweler should know,” Barden told Metalsmith magazine in a recent profile. “It was really helpful to start out with projects that are more simple, like the pierced earrings, and then work my way up and see how the skills can transform and develop.”
Barden now works as a full-time bench jeweler at the Heidi Lowe Gallery in Lowe, Delaware.