Like many young men I grew up with a fascination for videos games. I excitedly anticipated the release of new consoles and share fond memories of staying up with my brother and friends playing Super Smash Bros through the night. My interest in video games, however, has always extended beyond playing them: I constantly watched interviews with game developers, and spent endless hours reading about the latest games. I was inspired to one day make games myself. I also took print making classes a found that really enjoyed drawing and visual arts. Unfortunately my high school was much more focused on the liberal arts, and never taught us potential visual art careers. Thankfully my mom had a strong artist background and really encouraged me to pursue a more artistic path. She would constantly take me to museums and even though I despised it at the time I have found that the exposure to art throughout my childhood really has inspired me to continue work on my craft. While in high school I taught myself to create games using tools like Gamemaker and Unreal Engine, and while the games were rudimentary, the process of creating them sparked a lasting passion that compelled me to pursue an education in computer graphics.