Out of high school I joined the US Air Force as a Satellite Systems Operator/Engineer.  While I didn’t formally attend college for User Research and Design, I was trained by the Air Force Research Lab during my time as defense contractor at the Center for Research Support (CERES) at Schriever AFB, CO.  They trained me on Human Computer Interaction Design and Research and Subjective Workload Assessment Testing (SWAT). It was then that I started my design journey by teaching myself to design better telemetry screens for satellite operations.  After my time there I began doing freelance web and graphic design until I began doing it formally for companies like Compassion International, FedEX, TD Ameritrade and so on.