Hi, I’m Tonya, a Stay Home Mom turned student working towards graduating with my degree in Graphic Design and Web Development in November 2022. After graduation I hope to work for a company that inspires and pushes me to grow as a designer, and expands my education beyond the classroom. 

Don’t let my limited employment history deceive you. I have been working as a graphic artist for nearly a decade. While it’s true I have mostly been in volunteer positions during that time, I have acquired skills as a content manager for web sites and social medias, generated cohesive company branding, designed print flyers for events, created social media images and ads, produced logos for businesses, designed t-shirts for organizations, dabbled in video editing, and ran my own business making custom orders featuring decals, tumblers, t-shirts, and more, all while running a house and raising 3 kids (with the help of my husband of course, credit where credit is due). Bottom line is, If I could do it, I did, and if I didn’t know how to do something, I learned.

In my free time I am a gamer who goes by the online pseudonym “ToRiMiLi” which is a combination of mine my kids first two letters in each of our names. My favorite games are survival, tower defense, and virtual farming. I love watching people play horror games, but I don’t play them. I have 3 dogs and I cat, and I like to imagine that in the future I will live in a cottage in the woods where I’ll sell artisan soaps made of the milk from my small goat farm, collect fresh eggs from my chickens, and pick vegetables from my garden, but considering I can’t keep a plant alive, I have a deep fear of feathered creatures, and I have no idea what I’d do with the male goats my females birthed (remember, I said I want a “small” goat farm) I figure, let that be the fantasy while I focus on more realistic goals like creating merchandise designs that make people happy, developing logos, sites, or designs that make small businesses feel like a big deal, designing ads that make people excited about products, and hopefully one day seeing my artwork used for blockbuster movie posters, on display in theme parks, and on billboards for all to see.