About Me: Kevin Dean Sundquist
I grew up around Issaquah/Bellevue Washington area all my life but was born in Ellensburg in April 26 of 1983. I had a good childhood and was raised with a caring family with a mom and a dad, two older siblings who were also boys. I group up and went to school nearby and tried my hardest to achieve what I wanted in my schooling career. I had many interests and goals in elementary and middle school but soon things to change in my life. As they do! For the longest time I wanted to be a singer in late elementary to middle school and I was actually quite good, however, as I said before things change over time as I matured and grew up and matured and went through what we call "puberty." I went to High School in Issaquah and did many great things that was rewarding and great at the time.
I decided to focus on my art and learning computers and that where it started my drive to study art and design. I took many computer and art courses in high school and as I remember it was challenging and fun at the same time. I first took classes in High school level in keyboarding and art in my first year. I learned how to type and draw quickly and accurately. I learned typing when it was still a big thing in the tech world in high school and later on in college where I was introduced to advanced techniques to learn the art. I took a number of computer and art related classes in high school which guided me to what I truly wanted to pursue. I learned in the next couple of years what I really wanted to do in my future career: Digital Imaging through graphic design courses offered at Tiger Mountain Community High School. Digital Imaging and Video Foundations were classes just outside of my high school campus. It was a small school but had vast resources in computer technology. The Programs I learned in these classes were "Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Final Cut Pro.Soon
I grew up like many with many interests, passions and dreams I had to fulfill. In throughout my career as a student from elementary school to high school I wanted to be a singer, an artist, and a hiker which came later as I ventured out into the outdoors with my old man in boy scouts and venture. I always had an interest in art the youngest I can remember at least. Computers came later but soon was the platform in which I did my future art and designs.n my senior year I was finishing my classes and readying myself for graduation. I did my senior project community service tutoring students in digital imaging. I helped students learn the computer hardware and software that was needed for the class. It was fun and rewarding! I still had time to do a paid internship creating a website for the Issaquah High school career center. This was over 100 hours and was by far one of my more challenging projects.
I also had other hobbies like running cross country and track and taking part in Boy Scouts and hiking. It was the highlight of my young adolescent life and became a rewarding and promising future for me. In the duration of all that was going on in my life my senior year was hard with all the challenges and obstacles in my way of accomplishing all that I had set forth. I had to make some tough choices and prioritize what really, I wanted to pursue. I chose to back out of boy scouts at a Life ranking and leave track my senior year and not achieve my varsity letter I so fought hard to achieve. I soon graduated with my high school degree and all the experiences in my life made me realize that this was just the beginning. And so, it went!I graduated and obtained my High School diploma and went on to Bellevue community college where I focused my efforts to accomplish my general education requirements and graduated in 2004 with a AAS (Associate of Arts and Sciences) .
In the next few years, I went to school full-time at Bellevue community college and worked in retail part-time. My first real job was at Barnes and noble booksellers. I was a café barista. I soon left BN and went to Michaels Arts and Crafts where I learned how to sell and make picture frames. I worked there for two years and soon left for Western Washington University. I learned a lot from attending Western Washington University even though I did not complete the focus major I intended on. The next ten plus years I worked in retail and soon settled in at my new job at Lowe’s Home Improvement. I learned a lot from school and working for a company that thrived on workers doing "their Job." It was a difficult job. I at first started as a loader and soon went to a Cashier position in garden and more recently a lumber cashier position opened, and I jumped on it.
One thing I got out of working at Lowe's was my "store map" I created and the skills I obtained by working on a POS computer system. Soon after all the hype of the store map I created, I was promoted to the Building Materials and lumber CSA floor job in early February of 2018! I did my final map of the department even before my new position started-which helped me learn the department even better! I soon returned to Cashiering after a short four months. I learned the lumber department better as an associate and soon became a more valuable cashier back there.
In the past months to come I took a break from Lowe's and cashiering and practicing another profession unrelated to design and art. Even though this was a mistake I gained perspective and reawakened my passion for design as I returned to Lowe's as a Cashier. I took several courses post BCC and high school but soon realized my true calling was something I would have to do on my own, not a school setting. Now I am doing just that, creating work and getting experience along the way for anyone I can find. I've done work for my friends, I created works for my job, and also my own art that keeps me going!
Even now I am optimistic of doing more in my career and still want to pursue doing what I have "talent" and "skill" at in design and beyond. In the future I intend to keep improving my skills in the field of design and art. The one goal I have had since high school was become certified as an Adobe Expert and get employed as a designer. I'm 41 years old, I work hard and am passionate about the art and design that I produce and enjoy helping others reach the ultimate potential in their work or projects. Check out my cover letter and resume above in my "Qualifications" link. Feel free to contact me if you would like to know more:
kevinsundquist83@gmail.com
Best Regards,
Kevin Sundquist