As a freshman at Ohio Wesleyan University, I had no idea what I wanted to do after graduation. My life-long dream of becoming a lawyer was crushed just a few years before I graduated high school due to a horrible shadowing experience. That left me facing a difficult decision with very little direction.

I looked at what I liked to do and what I didn't. I looked at what I was good at. I finally decided on journalism because I like to write but didn't have the imagination for fiction writing, and I've always been a very inquisitive person.

Part of the journalism curriculum at Ohio Wesleyan University (my al ma matar) is to complete an on-campus internship with the school newspaper, radio show or television station. I knew I didn't want to go into broadcast because I don't like being on video and I hate my voice, so I chose print journalism as my course of study.

When I approached the chair of the department, the only position still available was assistant to the production manager. I was to help her design the newspaper, layout individual pages and help with designing the ads. I had no experience doing this really, but I took the job.

Within two weeks (two issues of the paper), I had become the production manager and the previous manager had become my assistant. I had fallen in love with design and fallen hard.

Once I decided this was the direction I wanted to steer my career, I did all I could to improve my skills.
I began taking graphic design and art classes while continuing to complete my journalism major. My schedule ultimately prevented me from minoring in fine arts, but I came only two classes shy and decided real world experience would be more beneficial than two more 3D classes.

This experience has included internships working on newsletters, advertising materials, public relations materials and other things relating to journalism and art.

The school newspaper really allowed me to sharpen by design skills. I was editor in chief and design editor. Through these positions, I redesigned the look of the entire newspaper, giving it a much needed update. I also set up rate books and style books (two things that had never been used before). I helped to update the website for the paper and increased circulation significantly. What was a newspaper about to go under became a conversation piece and a publication people turned to for information.

Looking back at my experiences in junior high, high school and early in my college career, I was always interested in using computers to create art and documents. My attention to detail and hard work allow me to really use this medium to its potential, but I know that I'll always be learning. New software, new mediums and new clients will keep me a lifelong student of the craft.

Hopefully I can use writing, designing and art to find myself a successful career that I can really enjoy.
I am lucky that my first choice for a major in college was actually what I continued with and what I enjoy!