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Middlesex Campus Library

Middlesex Alumni Stories

Middlesex alumni are thoughtful and productive members of the community. Here are some of the unique stories of these diverse and talented former students.

Angelique Ortiz

Angelique OrtizA Veteran of the Air Force, Angelique (aka Angel) graduated in 2016 with dual degrees in Graphic Design and Multimedia. She was Valedictorian of her graduating class and earned an award for academic excellence in Graphic Design, as well as being a recipient of the Pritchett-Taylor Scholarship.

Shortly before graduating, her internship asked for her to stay on as a full-time with them because they were impressed with the quality of work that she produced while interning with them.

Where do you work?
I work at a small design firm by the name of (a)squarestudio that is located here in Middletown.

What do you do at your job?
I do quite a lot of different duties at my job. I am in charge of managing the company’s social media outlets, weekly e-newsletter and blog post, as well as mailing out marketing postcards weekly that highlight our talents as designers to help attract new clients. I also make sure that the company’s portfolio is up to date on recently completed projects.

After those are finished, I help with the designing of branding identities of clients, as well as designing any stationery packages and marketing materials that they request for. 

I also help in taking and editing photographs and videos of clients products, facility, and anything else they would like to be seen on their website, instead of having to rely on stock imagery. As well as assisting with the updating any content on a client’s website as per their request.  

What originally brought you to MxCC?
I had moved to Middletown in the fall of 2013, I was working as an Army contractor at the time, and was hit with the sequester and out of work for 2 weeks. During that time I started to think of how I was not happy at my job and wanted to do something that made me happy. I was inspired by my boyfriend, who is a full-time blacksmith, to go back to school, with the help of the GI Bill, and pursue my dream making a living from my art.  I wanted to go to a community college because I wanted to be in a small, intimate class and have close relationships with my teachers, versus the big classes and numerous students that are typical of universities.

Angelique OrtizDid you do an internship at MxCC?
Yes I did. I did quite a lot of searching for internships in the Graphic Design/Multimedia field, and submitted many applications to different design firms. (a)squarestudio was the first one to get back to me promptly, and when I say promptly I mean with in an hour of my email to them. I ended up having an interview that very same day and immediately knew that I wanted to do my internship with them. I started interning with them after the new year and stayed with them all through my last semester at MxCC and became a full-time employ with them after I graduated.

How did MxCC prepare you for the workforce?
My teachers helped prepare me for the workforce by honing my skills as both an artist and a designer. They gave us deadlines and told us to treat those deadlines as if they were a real world project for a client who hired us to do the job. They also taught me how to keep proper files of projects and to learn a file system that would be a huge boost for us once we entered the field. My bosses are pleasantly surprised at how organized my digital files are.

What was your favorite thing about MxCC?
My favorite thing was going to class and creating art. I love the process of creating, whether it be an oil painting or a digital animation, it all makes me so incredibly happy and I love that I get to do it everyday and making a living from it!

Anything else you’d like to add?
Give it all you’ve got. Don’t let the “I don’t wanna” voice tell you to do something halfway. Go above and beyond. Push your self outside of your comfort zone, for that is how you will grow not only in skill, but as an individual. I do not regret a moment of my time at Mxcc. Yah there were times I was up until 1am working on a project and bemoaning myself for being so ambitious, but in the end, that ambition pushed me to learn many new mediums that I had never dared to try out, as well as achieving an accolade I had never even dreamt of before: Valedictorian. So don’t hold back, anything is possible if you put your mind, heart and soul into it!