A SOUTHERN BELL
I was born and raised in the Deep South. My parents are farmers and I drove a pickup truck through two counties to high school. Not really. I’m actually from Springfield, Illinois, and, contrary to popular Chicagoan belief, just because I was born south of I-80 I did not grow up like this. Me and my little red Oldsmobile had a pretty average adolescence. I attended Springfield High School where I was on the Track & Field Team, and the Scarlet Line Dance Squad. I also had the highly prestigious honors of being captain of the Powderpuff team, Vice President of French Club, and Prom Court Coordinator. I graduated with honors, 13 college credit hours, and a strong desire to break free of my “small town” roots and make my mark on the world.
AN ILLINI
I chose to attend the University of Illinois because, well, who wouldn’t want to go to the best Big 10 school in central Illinois? Between cheering on our uber-talented football team and working part-time at the bookstore, I earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Architectural Studies. Countless all-nighters, many critiques, a few statements of praise, and one or two emotional breakdowns went into that degree. What I learned, though, were things much more powerful; Collaboration, motivation, organization, scheduling, using criticism as a learning tool, and my own personal creative identity. I graduated with honors, a GPA of 3.75, and a great sense of what I stand for as a designer.
A BEARCAT
Sortof. My heart will always be with the orange and blue. However, when selecting graduate schools I had to turn away from my beloved Illini once I was accepted into the University of Cincinnati, then the 6th ranked graduate school in the nation for architecture. I became a bearcat. I completed 2 semesters at UC before coming to the realization that becoming a licensed architect is no longer my dream. After months of debating with myself I decided not to return to classes. Instead took myself off of autopilot to find what it is I really want to do with my life. I have found that what I loved about architecture was the conceptual schematic design phase. I enjoy absorbing the environmental and demographical cues about a site and program and using them to formulate a design. Thus, I have found the courage to transition into graphic design, and eventually branding and environmental graphics. It is a bold move, but not one that requires all six degrees of separation.
SELF-TAUGHT
Once I realized that I wanted to pursue graphic design and branding, I knew that I would need to do a great deal of self-teaching. I was a little worried about this, mainly because my attempt to teach myself how to play the guitar ended up in a waste of my parents money, two guitars plus equipment gathering dust (but still proudly on display, of course), and a Guitar for Dummies book in the trash. Luckily my passion for design is stronger than trying to take my teen angst out on a set of steel strings. My architecture background gave me a great head start, already knowing how to use Adobe CS and a few 3D modeling, rendering and animation programs. I gained knowledge in color matching and color theory, diagramming, and layout. The past months I have spent submersed in books and CS6 learning more formally about graphic and branding design. I have also learned HTML5 and CSS3 for web design and development. Though I have widened my breadth of knowledge and skills a great deal on my own, I look forward to learning more in a real-world context.
EXPERIENCED
Although my resume contains a plethora of highly prestigious positions, such as working retail, lifeguarding, serving, etc., the two architecture internships I have had gave me a great amount of real world experience. Throughout those internships, both at MMLP and at BHDP, I did not know a typical 40 hour work week. In fact, I didn’t even know a typical week. Juggling multiple projects and being asked to help co-workers with their projects kept the workday from being boring and repetitive. The 10-11 hour workdays went by quickly. It was not required that I work overtime, however I take great pride in my work and I am detail oriented. Therefore I am more than willing to put in the time and effort that it takes to produce a high quality product (yet another blessing/curse acquired in architecture school).
TRAVELED
I would say that between my 8th grade class trip to Puerto Rico (way better than Six Flags), and staying on a house boat in the Panama Canal, I have been pretty lucky regarding the opportunities I have been given to travel. I have been to Puerto Rico, Paris, the south of France, Panama, Honduras twice, and the Bahamas. My favorite excursions have been the ones to Central America. I left one piece of my heart in Honduras and one in Panama, with the children and families I met in those communities. In Honduras I was part of a group constructing the first secondary school in a very poor, very rural village. That school raised the education level of those children up to 9th grade, where it was 5th before, making an extraordinary impact. In Panama we constructed a greenhouse to protect young plants, which icreased the output of resources in that farming community. Thus, it raised the entire community’s income level, making an extraordinary impact.
MOTIVATED
My time spent in Central America opened my eyes to the influence of design. My true goal in life is to help people. I have seen firsthand how great design has the power to give people respect, hope, goals, and a new way of life. I believe that companies and organizations today are producing ways to better the lives of people, whether it is socially, economically, environmentally, etc. I believe that by helping these companies create or maintain a graphic identity that helps them gain momentum is the service I can provide. Design isn’t just about pretty pictures and colors; it’s about the effect it has on people. It is something I value very highly and something that I am truly motivated to become the best that I can possibly be.
FIT
I grew up playing sports and playing outside. My knees are visual reminders of my thinking that I was a physically invincible child. Although I have outgrown the years of school sports, I still maintain a high level of physical activity. I ran my first half marathon this May at the Flying Pig in Cincinnati. I may have run slower than I ever have, but in the end I felt more accomplished than I ever have. Currently I am working through Sean T.’s “Insanity� program, which I love. I also participated in a sand volleyball league over the summer. I think that regular exercise takes an immense amount of motivation, dedication, and physical and mental strength, not to mention its great ability to relieve stress and keep you socially conscious.
TRYING REALLY HARD
Shamelessly. Transitioning is tough. I have rebranded and remarketed myself to become more appealing for graphic design positions rather than architecture ones. I have worked incredibly hard to become an asset in a competitive field. I am a quick and eager learner and I am dedicated to my design and branding goals. I hope to find a company willing to give me the opportunity to learn and grow with them. I thrive in a collaborative and fun-loving office culture. I am capable of producing great work, and I intend to continue producing great work alongside a team of designers who share the same passions as I do.
EASY
To get a hold of. Come on, now. My resume, portfolio, and a few graphic samples are available at http://issuu.com/jessicathelen My LinkedIn profile can be viewed at www.linkedin.com/pub/jessica-thelen/2b/a22/688/ I can be reached by phone: (217) 691-6504 I can be reached by email: jessthelen@gmail.com I am available for an interview any time, with at least two days notice. I would love to relocate.