My name is Michael Rodriguez. I'm currently a senior at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester,NY majoring in Graphic Design. Where do I stand in the design world? How have I reached this point in my life? Well, it has been a long personal journey for myself.

Ever since I was born in the big city (New York) somehow I knew I had to prove myself and it wasn't going to be easy. My family has faced many misfortunes and thus as they struggled to provide a home for us, I knew I had to do more. Luckily, my family was fortunate enough to move out of the city into a nice quiet town in the Hudson Valley area of New York. Talk about culture shock! I believe this was the right move. From here I was able to begin my life exploration. I tried out many different fields from meteorology to architecture. They seemed intriguing, but yet I still felt a disconnect. This was until I discovered the world of design at the age of 13, when my family first got a computer.

The Junior/Senior High School I attended had one art teacher and one art course. We learned basic art and I had a connection with being able to express myself, yet it was not until I created my first graphic work, a website for my church, did I finally feel the connection. It just clicked and I knew this was it.

From there, I took the initiative to study design. I taught myself how to use the essential programs, I researched more about this field. It was at this moment I knew what I wanted to do. I was lucky enough to figure out what I wanted to do early in my life. This has tremendously helped me.

In high school I was responsible for all the graphic work, whether it were flyers, brochures, posters, websites, as I was the only known aspiring designer in my school. When I entered college I had to take the next step, discover where I am in this design world. It was then I realized that throughout my life I had to always prove myself. I always needed to create that message. My work therefore needs to reflect upon this. Simply Bold. Bold can be interpreted in a number of ways, bold color, bold choice of content, bold approach. My work embodies this definition. Now at the age of 22, I have felt I finally have been able to define myself and I'm proud at what I have achieved. I hope to continue designing for the rest of my life. I can't imagine doing anything else.