After college, I jumped into a career of creative problem solving in Dayton, Ohio as Artistic Director of Fourth Avenue, LLC., a professional touring a cappella ensemble while also serving as Adjunct Voice Faculty for Wright State University’s Department of Theatre, Dance and Motion Pictures. The Department of Theatre also hired me as a graphic designer for the department.For seven years, I was Outreach and Education Director for the Clark State Performing Arts Center and directed Project Jericho, a collaboration between Clark State Performing Arts Center and Job and Family Services of Clark County. During my time with Project Jericho, I filled the roles of Arts Administrator, Teaching Artist, Graphic Designer, and Multimedia Specialist to name a few. Under my leadership, Project Jericho more than tripled its grant income and won a national Coming Up Taller Award in 2008 from the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.After being recognized at the White House as a Champion of Change in Arts Education in 2011, I submitted a proposal for a new degree program for Clark State College that merged the arts and technology. With the blessing of college administration and working with local businesses to identify employment needs, I successfully created the Associate of Applied Business in New Media. I’m now the Faculty Coordinator of Graphic Design and New Media for Clark State College and get the honor of passing on creative problem-solving skills to the digital artists and designers of tomorrow. In addition to the Associate of Applied Business in New Media, I also initiated and led the creation of a Bachelor of Applied Science in Web Design and Development working with local industry stakeholders. It was a highly competitive process of creating this bachelor's degree for Clark State – out of 19 proposals submitted by 9 colleges in the State of Ohio, only 2 proposals were approved. In 2009, 2016, and 2020, I received Professional Excellence awards from Clark State, and in 2021, I received the Dale P. Parnell Faculty Distinction Award from the American Association of Community College, a national award recognizing individuals making a difference in the classroom. The problems keep coming because my employers and clients know that I look at problems differently – that my creative approach and drive for excellence will be complimented by an attention to detail and careful planning. They know I expect more of myself and my work than they could ever expect from me.