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Earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts introduced me to artistic practices, perspectives, opportunities, and mediums I otherwise would not have encountered. I developed an unexpected interest in typography that continues to shape my work and inform my examination of how we read, interpret, and construct meaning. I now work full-time at �鶹��ý, just above the art studio that has always brought me joy and continues to inspire my creative practice. In the accompanying photo, I’m showing off hand-sculpted fingernails in front of my own prints, proof that my art practice occasionally extends all the way to my fingertips.

Attending art classes at Washington State University Vancouver helped me grow more confident in sketching and designing. The art classes I took taught me a lot about the creative process, and I have been able to use the techniques from those courses in my 3D modeling and animations. I learned the importance of sketching out ideas and of using sketchbooks and maquettes to experiment with and visualize designs. �鶹��ý art classes made me far more confident in starting projects and in bringing my ideas to life.

Since graduating from �鶹��ý, my life has been full of adventure and growth. Throughout these changes, my appreciation for nature, connection, laughter, sunshine, color, expression, and creation has remained constant. As a student, art classes helped me connect with myself while observing the world around me in a deeper way. In my career with Daimler Truck North America, I have sought positions with creative freedom and autonomy as I work to affect our company culture positively. Whether creating an engaging presentation or flyer, or admiring sketches of a truck model, I use the fundamentals I learned at �鶹��ý every day to interact with and appreciate the world around me.

I have been studying for the LSAT with hopes of attending law school and eventually working in art law. The areas that interest me the most are the repatriation of cultural objects and the protection of cultural heritage. Studying art history helped me develop strong critical thinking skills and the ability to engage with complex ideas. Researching the provenance and histories of cultural objects pushed me to ask questions about ownership, power structures, and ethics. These ways of thinking continue to shape how I understand the complex relationships between art, law, and cultural heritage.

Since graduating from �鶹��ý, I have experienced many changes both good and bad, but all of them have shaped me into who I am today. I work in marketing and recently started a new role at JD Fulwiler & Company Insurance that I am super excited and passionate about! Taking art classes on the Vancouver campus really shaped my career path in marketing because I use a lot of creativity in the work I do. I use techniques I learned in art classes when I create marketing materials, graphic designs, and social media posts. I really love what I do, and I appreciate all of the projects I worked on and people I met at �鶹��ý!

I spent much of my time at �鶹��ý attending art classes as well as participating in the ArtX club, and if I wasn't doing either of those things I was hanging out in the studio working on art projects, both for homework and personal fulfillment. The art department and team opened many possibilities for me and gave me a solid foundation for my own creative process. I explore many mediums but my current obsession is photography. I met my wife Katie Chavers in art class and the two of us have started our own event photography company, Counter Cat Studios. Digital photography is my current fixation, but analog art, such as drawing, will always be at my core.