Launica

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My name is Jessica Lastre. I was born in the Chinese Year of the Rabbit and under the sign Gemini. I bring this up because I am the textbook example of both for the most part (i.e., “…talented yet shy…” as a Rabbit; “…intellectually inclined, forever probing people and places in search of information” as a Gemini). I have recently returned home to Maryland after a brief stint in the lovely state of Florida where I attended the AI of Tampa.

My love for art began in my earliest of years. Being part of a loud Cuban family, I was the different one, always preferring the role of the quiet “loner.” If I wasn’t reading, I was surely drawing. My conquest to become a graphic designer began my senior year of high school and has driven me ever since. I hope for a future career that involves loving what I do and doing what I love.

In 2007, I obtained my AFA degree in Graphic Design. I graduated with honors and as a member of Phi Theta Kappa from the School of Art and Design at Montgomery College (previously known as the Maryland College of Art and Design) in the state of Maryland. In perusing my Bachelor’s, I first moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan and spent a winter semester at the Kendall College of Art and Design. Hating the cold, not really learning anything new and feeling uninspired led me to Florida. Feeling lonely and in need of family support, I returned to Maryland where I have begun my online adventure. I have always believed that the day you stop learning is the day you die, and I hope that with each day life brings, I learn something new.

Currently, I work full time as an Art Traffic Coordinator for a wholesale souvenir company. I am responsible for tracking all the art that goes to the artists to complete, to the customers to approve or revise, and then to the purchasers who send it off to the factories to get made. If you’ve ever bought a souvenir, chances are it came from Charles Products, Inc.