Graphic design and the arts have been a significant part of my life since I was young. I started out helping my parents design mini houses back in the early '90s for their slab-clay pottery business, Critter Creek Pottery. From creating clay house plans, I moved on to real house plans, sketching residential floor plans in my graphing notebook, calculating furniture sizes, and visualizing the best layouts for each space. That early introduction to 3D visualization marked the beginning of my design career.

When I started college, I aspired to become an architect or interior designer. My first step was earning an Associate's degree in Interior Design from Marshall University. During my internship, I secured a position as a kitchen designer at Home Depot. This was a great start, but it was not my long-term goal. Before leaving my interior design program, I learned about a new graphics professor at Marshall and her passion for advancing the design program. After meeting with her and talking to other students and faculty, I realized that graphic design was the right fit for me.

After completing my Bachelor’s degree under the excellent teaching of Hayson Morton (formerly a design professor at VCU), I explored many different areas of graphic design. My journey included a book publishing internship, working at an in-house print/design shop in Kentucky, and joining a nationally recognized ad agency in my hometown. I also ventured into freelancing, running my own business for three years with a couple of retainer clients. Later, I became the Creative Director at a local digital marketing firm and most recently, I’ve had the privilege of working in the education department with the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE).

Over the last four years at MDE, I have developed teaching materials such as editable online forms, PowerPoint presentations, charts, Word templates, and conference materials. One of my most significant projects has been creating a Pre-K Curriculum book set (six, 650-page books), which began distribution throughout the state in the fall of 2024. Working with such an amazing team and contributing to curriculum development has been incredibly rewarding, and I have learned so much during my time at MDE.

Although MDE is keeping me on as an "as-needed" designer to maintain updates and edits on the books I’ve created, I am currently seeking other part-time or full-time employment opportunities where I can continue to grow my design skills. I look forward to future creative projects — message me!