The Beginning
I have been enamored with design as far back as I can remember. As a child, I fell in love with the classic Lego blocks. I was intrigue by this world of layering and texture combined with the creative process. Studying these blocks caused me to lose track of time. My tendency was not to create large dramatic pieces, but to study the intricacies of the individual pieces. I was able to study a design and picture the pieces I needed along with describe the specifics of each piece.
I was born and raised in Upstate New York. As I experienced different aspects of design, I began to crave gaining more knowledge of it. It became my goal to attend the local technical institute, RIT. The culture I grew up in did not encourage college attendance and I found my dreams met with pessimistic fallacies. How will you pay for it? Can you get good grades? Where will you get a job? Aren't you happy just working and staying home? Do you know how to apply to college? Unfortunately, I let these fallacies become my truth and I graduated high school without applying to any colleges much less my dream college.
The Middle
Skip ahead four years to my mid 20's and my dream came back as a roaring flame. I had lost my best friend in a tragedy that made the worldwide news. During this time of grief, I grew up fast and I grew up hard. Reality dictated that I could spend my whole life living in a box and potentially die young without ever accomplishing what I wanted out of life. Ever since then, I have chased my dreams with a passion that refuses to die. No, I didn't attend RIT. I did pack my life in my car and move across the country to Washington State.
Moving to Washington was one of my greatest life decisions and it has contained my hopes and failures. I have experience the crushing blows of four rejected portfolios by a small design school to two years of community college to a specialized program acceptance from the University of Washington.
I am currently a Senior in UW's Interactive Media Design Program. I entered this program with an interest in Motion Graphics. I was accepted in a year early and have been carrying a 15/20 credit course load per quarter in addition to holding a full time job.
The End?
Being in this program has quickly shown me where my strengths and weaknesses lie. I enjoy code, but my brain is not built to naturally read and write code. I can do it, but it takes a conscious altering of my mindset. Design still enamors me. This program has opened my eyes to the fact that I am good at design, but not as amazing as some of my fellow students. Being decent at code and good at design, I realized my strengths lay in project management. I am great at structuring a project, supporting my fellow students, balancing workloads, and establishing communication between stakeholders.
This observation has proven itself to be true in my full time job. I work for a Telecommunications Company as a Program Manager. You can read more about my work experiences here on this site. I am encouraged to be entering my Senior Year with a clear understanding of my skill set and look forward to what graduation will bring.
Strengths
-
Structure
-
Individualization
-
Leadership
-
Analytical
-
Prioritization
-
Strategic
