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Pre-college activities included a heavy emphasis on sports and education. I participated in football, basketball, and extensively baseball. I also had a very strong desire to create art and was often found drawing, painting, and generally trying to be creative in whatever I pursued.
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I had the option of going to Lehigh University to enter into the engineering program and play baseball. However, I chose not to continue my pursuit of a baseball career and instead entered into the Rutgers University engineering program.
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At the start of my sophomore year I transfered to the main campus of Rutgers College and changed my major to computer science.
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After a semester off at school, I re-entered Rutgers University and changed my major once again, this time to Visual Arts.
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One of my first classes in the Visual Arts Program was a drawing fundamentals class taught by the former head of the graphic design department for many years, Paul Bruener. I was intrigued one day when he brought in some of his old work and was drawn into the creativity, structure, and problem-solving of graphic design.
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I chose graphic design as my concentration and finished the program upon graduation in 2001.
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I started designing websites in approximately 1997 after trading a friend of mine a car CD stand for a book on web design. I designed my first website for my parents' catering/deli business (Lou's Sub Shop/D'Agostino's Catering) using Notepad.
*The D'Agostino's Catering link provided is the current version, not the original site I designed in Notepad.
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After I graduated from Rutgers University I took a job with a small marketing firm in central New Jersey. I had been working part-time for the company my last year in college doing web/graphic design and was made an offer to come on full time. During my time with the company I learned invaluable lessons regarding how to run a business, sales, and marketing in general...along with honing my skills as a designer and search engines expert. But, all things must come to an end and I left the company in the fall of 2005.
On April 17, 2005 I got married to the beautiful Stacey :) We had been dating for about two-and-a-half years when I proposed (on one knee in front of a crowded restaurant!). We got married at the Crystal Plaza in Livingston, NJ and went on our honeymoon to Walt Disney World!
I've been studying tae kwon do at USA TKD under Master Vince for the past 5 or 6 (or 7?) years and have earned a second degree black belt. Tae kwon do is an integral part of my life and I encourage everyone to get involved in this fulfilling way of life.
Now I work for a company, Icons, Inc., which I ironically worked for part-time my last year at Rutgers. I'm continuing what I do best...graphic design, web design, search engine optimization, online marketing, etc. The best part is that I can walk to work!
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Recently Stacey and I have welcomed in a new addition to our family: Teddy. Teddy is a brown-and-white shih tzu and is simply a pleasure to be around :)
