Gallery Exhibitor, Professional Designer — And Recent USF Grad

What’s your story?

At USF, I was a design major and minored in advertising  and Asian Pacific American Studies.  The idea for my senior thesis, “Orient Mart,” stemmed from a desire to create a project that was a culmination of all that I had learned and studied at USF, while also drawing on my own experiences growing up Filipino-American. I’m really in close contact with a lot of my professors at USF, and Glori Simmons [director of Thacher Gallery] reached out because “Orient Mart” had been in a few shows around the city over the past few years, and she thought it would be a really good fit for Market/Value, the fall exhibition at Thacher Gallery.

Why sparked your interest in design?

My interest in design started with high school yearbook. I was really drawn to how we were able to tell the stories of students while creating something tangible to document them. In a way, that translated to the idea of using design as a way to tell stories, which is still extremely relevant to my current work. I had always been interested in the arts, and I wanted to pursue something creative in my career. My first year at USF was online due to the pandemic, and design felt like a stable-enough career that also offered a creative outlet. I grew to love it, inspired by my professors and the variety of classes I was able to take at USF.

What are you doing now at Penguin Random House?

It’s a really fun position. I work for a publisher within Penguin Random House called Clarkson Potter. I work on the team that does gift products, and that ranges from journals to games to tarot decks. I get to work on a lot of creative and fun formats with a large range of clients, such as Star Trek, Emily Henry, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Amy Tan. I really appreciate being able to work on products that bring a lot of joy to people's lives.

What career advice do you have for USF students?

I would say really hone in on your portfolio when you can, and try to frame every project you work on in your classes or student job as something that you can be proud of displaying and talking about with others, especially in interviews. Specifically for design students at USF, I’d say you should soak up everything you are able to do in the design program. It’s very rare in your career to be surrounded by people your age who are interested in design, where you have a community you can talk with about your projects. Take advantage of the community you have at USF and keep those connections because you never know where that will lead to in the future.