How I Became a Digital Designer (By Accident)

I grew up in Arizona and always liked art and design. It came naturally to me, but I never really thought it would turn into anything serious.

I got my start at a small startup where I was introduced to marketing and design. I liked it, but eventually I left that world for a better paying role at a very large technology company. I worked as a project manager on a multi-million dollar account. From the outside, it looked like I was doing everything right.

But something still felt off.

So I quit. No plan. No safety net. Just a quiet feeling that I couldn’t stay.

After that, I spent a lot of time at Starbucks. Same place, same drink. I was a regular. The baristas knew my name, and it felt familiar. One day, standing there waiting for my coffee, I casually asked if they were hiring. It wasn’t strategic. It just happened.

Being a barista ended up being one of the most challenging jobs I’ve ever had. Fast paced, nonstop, and way harder than people realize. Truly, give props to every barista out there.

One day during a shift, I started chatting with a regular customer I recognized. Normal conversation. He mentioned he was the dean at the high school up the street. They were hiring and needed someone creative, even though they didn’t really know what the role would become yet.

That conversation changed everything. What I didn’t realize at the time was that this moment would shape how I became a digital designer.

Fast forward four years later, I’m teaching high school, building websites, teaching marketing, typography, and design, and running most of the design and social media for the school. That confidence eventually turned into becoming a digital designer and started Brand Garden Studio.

I’m about a year away from finishing my degree in social media marketing at GCU, and this whole journey has taught me to trust my intuition more than a perfect plan.

Sometimes following your bliss doesn’t look loud or dramatic. Sometimes it just quietly works out.