“I was fairly artistic growing up. It is a trait I get from my mom, whose house is now filled with paintings and design work I did in high school and college. My dad had a crazy-hard work ethic and didn’t see how I could make a living in art (he was straight old school). My biggest step toward becoming a designer was when I was accepted into the Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA) in Birmingham, AL. To keep in line with both parents wishes I applied for both the Math and Science program and the Visual Arts program. Luckily, I was rejected from the Math and Science.

While at ASFA, I had my first experience with Photoshop, gained a foundation of the arts and learned the importance of a strong work ethic that would totally prepare me for my years in college. At first, I wanted to attend a prominent design college outside of the state, but realized it would be too expensive. I attended a nearby liberal arts school, the University of Montevallo. In retrospect this was a great decision. I gained all of the needed resources to grow my skills and land my first internship that would later turn into a full time position. Plus, my student loans are not too “ridoncoulous.”

During my senior year at Montevallo, my graphic design professor told me about an internship at EBSCO Industries, Inc. I had heard good things about the company and later learned that they had many divisions ranging from hunting gear to information services. I ended up getting the internship and worked hard to become a candidate for a full time designer position.

Here I am; a young designer part of a corporate communications team. We have a new high-energy general manager who has already made significant changes for the better, an awesome rock star creative director (literally, he is the former lead singer for a rock band!), fantastic writers, skilled researchers, great account managers and finally a collective of kick-tail designers and programmers. It almost seems as if a natural progression to this point but as I look back it took a great deal of refining to be asset to a super ‘cool-snapalicious-purely-clowning’ in-house team!

There are many things that I’ve learned along the way, but four areas have been essential to my growth:

1. Having a faith that produces confidence
2. Maintaining a good work ethic
3. Practicing patience
4. Building strong relationships

The ultimate foundation to my life transcends even my desires to be a designer. Having faith that God will provide opportunities for me to use my gifts to His glory, keeps me grounded and allows me to step back to look at the bigger picture of any situation. It also gives me a great deal of confidence to see that my Creator has always come through for me at crucial times in my life.

Having a good work ethic is key when it comes to working for a corporate entity that has a core value of being profitable and measures our success accordingly. There are so many talented designers that are looking for work right now, and I know for a fact that I will become dispensable if I start to slack. I work each day with the same heart I did when I wanted a full-time position at EBSCO as an intern in 2006. When I was interning at EBSCO, my group had a great deal of patience with me. They always made me feel comfortable asking questions and helped me whenever I needed. I always make an effort to display this same patience to others.

Finally, I cannot stress how important it is to build strong relationships with others. I work for a global company with a big-picture vision, but the relationship with my immediate team shapes the scope of how I operate with in it. Our group cultivates an atmosphere that promotes inspiration, creativity, and great work. In turn, I am inspired to be a better designer, co-worker and friend to my team members.”

Will Nash officially entered the design profession in 2006. Watch out world, here he comes!

Tags: career, creative, designer, inhouse, inspiration, relationship

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