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What do you do?
Beckett Publications currently produces six monthly magazines, five quarterly magazines, and six yearly price guide books all about sports collectibles and card collecting. There also is a separate entertainment division that covers trends like neopets and anime. I'm responsible for all editorial design, including covers, for two of the monthlies, one quarterly, several yearly book covers and occasional special projects and marketing. I work directly with editors to take them from concept to completion.

How did you get your job?
My junior year I started contacting some publishers I thought would be fun to work for, everywhere from Dallas to Colorado to Atlanta. I learned more about Beckett and decided it would be a great fit for me. I got in touch with the person responsible for hiring and let him know how passionate I was about working there. I kept in touch but didn't pester him. Five months after I graduated, someone left, and they hired me.

What do you particularly enjoy about your job?
I really enjoy working on the covers and seeing them at Target or Blockbuster. I have a lot of freedom to be creative. To be successful in my position you have to know your software (Quark, Photoshop, Illustrator), have mutual respect and a good working relationship with editors, be able to do quick cutting-edge design, and understand what's going on in the sports world. It also helps to be familiar with the printing process. It's a great team environment and I enjoy everyone that I work with. One of the best perks is that we get to play basketball at lunch. Also, no late nights or weekends; we stay organized and help each other out.

What do you consider your greatest professional achievement so far?
For one thing, I've worked at the same place for several years, and I'm not burned out. I don't know if that's an achievement, but I consider success to be enjoying coming to work each day. I've won a couple of design awards for covers, but that doesn't mean nearly as much as having the respect of my coworkers. I'm also proud of some freelance work I've done.

Best professional lesson you learned at the J-School?
Most graphic designers went to art school, not journalism school. I think the experience that affected me most was getting a broad understanding of the publishing process and working on a real-world weekly magazine. I feel like I understand how editors think and how we can work together to achieve a goal. I wouldn't have that without the J-School.

What would be your best advice to current students?
Follow your passion and be humble. Respect is earned over time because you do good work, not from a loud mouth.

What are your next career steps?
In the future, I'd like to do more training and teaching, especially in third world countries like I have in the past. Where I need to grow is in interactive design; Flash, Web, etc. I'm also getting into video editing. I want to have a broad understanding of all aspects of design so that I don't become old and stale. I just want to keep learning new things and keep my options open.

What is something about you that might surprise people?
I started at Mizzou as an engineering major. I like math, and most journalism students hate it.