True Calling
To be truthful, I am actually self-taught in web design. The majority of my courses concentrated on various aspects of print and graphic design (aside from the core curriculum classes like english and science, etc.). I jumped on the opportunity to take a web design class as soon as it became available, but it was such a new course, and I had been teaching myself web site design and development for so long, that I pretty much already knew everything that they taught in the class.
I’ll never forget when we had to develop web sites for real clients in the class (free work done by the students for the experience of working with a client). When I was showing my site to the class, pointing out the javascript rollovers… the teacher was quite impressed and asked how I did that! I have to admit, that it felt pretty good to have been able to do something the teacher could not do at the time.
By the time I graduated, I was 100% positive that I wanted to focus on web design.
Of course in the real world you have to take a job that pays the bills, so initially half or more of the work that I did was print / graphic design work.
Today
I officially moved to on to LSU Campus right after graduating in 1999.
My love of web design is so strong that I do this for more than just a 9-5 job.
That is why I constantly maintain my own personal web site. It is also why I freelanced as a web designer in my spare time, officially founding Hurricane Webdesigns in 2001.
Although lack of time is always an issue, I am constantly reading up on the latest web design and development techniques. One of the reasons that I love web design so much is that it is an ever-evolving medium.
It is an amazing sense of accomplishment every time you learn a new technique – especially if it was a struggle to get to that point.
Living The Dream
Since taking the “Freelance Plunge” I am now living the dream of being a small business owner / internet entrepreneur. I am absolutely in love with my new life, enjoying both the challenges and rewards that come with it.