Currently, I run a business called sextile industries, a mural company that has a graphic design background. I do a lot of school murals work directly with businesses on taking their brands and giving them some psych style to make them look cool. My time at the Kansas City Art Institute was a very unique one. It's very challenging one, but it was also one that really did shape me for who I am today.

My experience at KCAI was one that really pushed me as a person, not only as an artist, but as an individual in the world. My partner who's also a KCAI, alum and designer. And we came together through our love of design, and love of printmaking to create a small boutique shop called the Yup Yup design. And yeah, being an alumni just means and feels like having a strong community to support you, no matter what.

I think what makes KCAI alumni so successful in the community is that there's like a very rich art scene in Kansas City that they're able to tap into while there in school here. And it's great to be able to go to an opening and see our alumni active in the field, and to see the things that they're making in the exhibition programming that they're curating and putting on.

The connection I had to the network of graduates in my class was really awesome. Also, I think the local arts organizations are a big influence on keeping the opportunities for those recent grads to have a way to further their career, whether that's in the gallery world or in the more design, you know, commercial world.