I came to the United States from Vietnam with my mom and my younger brother. A few weeks after my arrival, I had to go to work to support my family. I was only eighteen years old.

I started working at Pizza Hut but had a difficult time because I could barely knew any English. After several months, I found another job at a printing company. My job here was easier but I had to work 10 hours per day. The job was monotonous and I knew I needed to move on and do something better for my future. I decided to take ESL classes at night.

A year later, my company closed but I was able to find another job at Daniel Smith, an art supplies store. Being around an art supply store, my artistic interests was awakened and I dreamed that I could go to school to study art or something related. After working there for about half a year, I worked up the courage to ask my manager if I could work part-time so that I can have time to go to school. Amazingly, the manager accepted my request and I've been going to school full-time
since.

I enrolled at Highline Community College and started taking classes. I thought I like art and drawing therefore I chose Drafting to be my major. But after taking the first class in the Drafting program, I felt it was not the right fit. I decided to change my major to Graphic Design.

In the Graphic Design program, I had many classes with professor Gary Nelson. He was a nice person and always encouraged me to explore my talents. I learned fundamentals about Graphic Design and also learned to
use graphic design software.

I graduated from the Graphic Design program at HCC and got a part-time job at the Center for Learning Connections at HCC. I still work there and I think it is a wonderful work place to practice my skills.

After exploring my other options and interests, I still felt strongly about continuing my education to gain a deeper understanding of graphic design therefore I decided to apply to the Visual Communication Design (VCD) program at the University of Washington.

The selection process to get into the school was a big challenge for me because I had to compete with 165 other students through two selections process in order to get into the program. The experience I gained from the Graphic Design program at HCC and especially from the Center for Learning Connections helped me to be one of twenty students selected to the UW VCD program.

Having been through the rigorous VCD program at UW, I have a better understanding about what is Graphic Design. To me, Graphic Design is not simply to create something beautiful, it's a whole thinking process to
create something that is functional and simple, yet surprises the viewer. For example, on one of the projects in our Graphic Design class, the requirement was to create a mark from a letterform. I got the letter G and decided to focus on glass. I brainstormed and look at all the functions and products made from glass to determine how I can transform it to a simple form so that it can be imply into the letter G. Through this project and other projects, I found that the faculty focus on the
critical examination of communication issues rather than style. I enjoyed all the steps of the process, from the definition of the problem to the crafting of the final product. I think I learned a great deal from other students and the instructors. I also learned to be a good critic and helpful to other students by giving good suggestions about their work.

And now, after a long journey, I will be graduating from the University of Washington this coming June. Through many years of study, I gained valuable insights skills which will help me later when I enter the workplace to become professional Graphic Designer.