11.22.24

WSU alum balances business and a bestselling book

Career paths are rarely linear, and for WSU alum Jillian Forsberg ’12, her journey from history major to bestselling author and bridal store owner highlights the sometimes-unexpected directions a degree can take you.

With undergraduate degrees in communications and history from McPherson College, Forsberg came to Wichita State to pursue a master’s degree in public history, hoping to combine her love for the spoken and written word with a historical focus. But, after working toward what she thought was her dream, she began to wonder if she was on the right path.

“I spent a couple of years as a museum director and education director, but I found that museums were not as fulfilling as I wanted them to be,” she reflects. “What’s funny is that even though I was pursuing my dream career, I never stopped working in bridal. I decided to go back to that full-time and left my history brain on the backburner for a couple years.”

Forsberg’s love for the bridal industry began as a part-time gig in college, continued as a weekend job as she tackled the world of museums, and became a full-blown career she has spent the better part of 18 years excelling at.

She found a new way to view history, focusing on the family history she was helping establish for her brides, but she wasn’t ready to hang up her research background forever.

Inspiration struck at Salina’s Rolling Hills Zoo, where an Indian rhino named Joya captured her attention. After diving into an internet search on the species, Forsberg discovered an 18th-century rhinoceros named Clara, who had an extraordinary story of a journey though Europe.

“I said to my husband, ‘I would really like to read a historical fiction novel based on that animal,’” says Forsberg. “And guess what, there wasn’t one. So, he said to me, ‘maybe that should be your book.’”

Forsberg’s thesis in college had focused on the 18th century, so she felt right at home returning to that world of research. She combed through museum archives, searching for artwork featuring a rhino and establishing a historically accurate path of Clara’s journey through Europe.

“Professors were always telling me to seek a knowledge base that most people wouldn’t, and for me, that was art,” Forsberg says. “Without my training at Wichita State, I don’t think I would have had the bravery to write this book.”

Published this fall, her novel, “The Rhino Keeper,” became a bestseller, hitting #1 on Amazon for animal fiction and historical fiction. As she enjoys the excitement around her book, she is also finding new success in her bridal career. In early 2024, she purchased the bridal store where she has worked since 2010, the Wichita-based Dress Gallery, and is finding the marriage of these two paths to be the perfect balance for her.

“Having that research-based mind and being able to have my career for my author journey supported by credentials from Wichita State has been really impactful for me,” she says. “I’ve signed books for some of my former professors and mentored students from their classes. I know if I stepped back on campus, they would welcome me, and it always feels nice to go back to a place where people know who you are.”