Education

I graduated high school in June of 1991. Our eyes were already set on moving west to be snowboarders with buddies. I was 17 when I graduated, turning 18 in the fall.

Mom pleaded with me, “Please go to NMC. We can provide the tuition. Work and save your money, and you can do whatever you want when you are done here. Those two years will go by fast.” I wanted to go right away, but knew I still had some growing up to do. So I stayed and dug.

It meant a lot to my mom and dad when I wrapped up my Associates Degree from NMC. They both tried their hands at college, but had exciting lives traveling and making good livings in Detroit as working people. And that was enough to buy a home and start a family with. Different times!

Minneapolis College
of Art & Design

Bachelors of Science Degree, Graphic Design

Fall of 1998–Spring of 2000
Minneapolis, Minn.

My experience at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design put some icing on the cake, as I was coming off five hot years of “wingin’ it” Out West. I had learned a lot on my own, but always felt there was an unattended-to lapse in my academic career. I wanted to finish school up, for the sake of completion, for me, and wanted to see if I could cut it in the big leagues.

I was just turning 25 and felt “old” amongst the 18 and 19-year-old kids fresh off the boat from the surrounding Midwestern states and cities.

Folks like Jerry Allan, Santiago Piedrafita, Jan Jancourt and Kali Nikitas guided this reckless energy into a big city, hi-falutin’ design degree.

Jerry Allan
Jerry Allan taught me how to look at things in different ways. This skill, forever to be honed into something involuntary and automatic. His genuine positivity, vast knowledge of technique and form dynamics and willingness to accept ALL students are fondly remembered for that one 3D class I was lucky enough to have taken with him.

I saw and caught up with him in Kansas City in 2006, and he was just as awesome as ever.

Santiago Piedrafita
Santiago Piedrafita once went to the length of cursing out the whole class and exclaiming, “Go be lawyers or an insurance salesman or something…,” and concluded the sermon with a couple steamy expletives and stormed off. Class was dismissed-and rightly so-due to a lack of “work up on the wall” to be discussed. That was a tough moment, but taught all us a crucial lesson: “Don’t waste people’s time.” He was there to help us, and a lot of those fuckers didn’t have work to show, so he let us all have it, and hard.

Santiago’s worldly quality, contemporary design awareness and contagious energy still continues to inspire me when we cross paths back in big city Minneapolis.

Jan Jancourt
Jan Jancourt has “good hair.” (Or so all the gals in class had to say.) His support and guidance and overall ability to make a kid feel like a colleague instead of a student created a welcoming air of one-to-one respect. I always found his insight and critique valuable.

Plus, Jan had the work under his belt to back it all up. He didn’t wield it, though. It was a privilege to be taught by someone who had chops. We all knew, Jan!

Kali Nikitas
Kali Nikitas in the most basic of Typography classes. Abrasive and condescending is an interesting way to win over an eager, excited student. She’s a tough cookie and even if I don’t agree with her methods of driving a point home, I do respect her commanding knowledge of typographic rules and finesse.

Plain and simple, she taught me a skill set that will forever resonate with every type decision I make. Plus, she wore this interesting foil sweater thingie that was always good for some perplexing thought.

Ben Clemence
Ben Clemence in the Woodworking Shop had an amazing amount of patience and calm in that big, loud-possibly dangerous-environment. He taught me some lifelong woodworking techniques I still use to this day. What a gentle, patient, creative, talent human being!

Pam Arnold
Pam Arnold of Designworks always had a pat on the back for me, and an inspiring optimism about the profession, and the opportunities for me out there in the big, wide, real world.

Frenchy Lunning
I had Frenchy for just one class, “Graphic Novels.” But from the get go she was great. Knowledgeable in the comic book universe, and just a really cool human being. She pushed you in the right way. I loved the class I had with her!

Fellow Students
Fellow students like Ryno Simonson, PJ Chmiel, Michael Godfrey, Kurt Halsey Frederiksen, Matt Cooley, Matt Rezac, Chad Kloepfer, Geoff Schley, Andy Maniotes, Atsushi, Bryan Haker, Will Staehle, Justin Israels, Jamie Pulley, Charlie Ross, Brad Randall, Michael Gaughan and Jason Miller were all “pretty good to me.”

Northwestern Michigan
Community College

Associates of Arts, Visual Communications
Fall 1991–Spring 1993
Traverse City, Mich.

An incredible introduction to graphic design, fine art, making and writing. Got my first introduction to computers. NMC was in Traverse City, so I still kept my room at Mom and Dad’s home and would drive in each morning in my Buick Skyhawk. My favorite teacher from Norm Averill, an old beatnik who’d done it all! I still remember the smell of his cigs. Had Jill HInds the whole time guiding us. My photography class was with Steve Ballance off site, which was super fun. Doug Domine was always great, too. Doug was the first professor I had who spoke to us like fellow adults, and I always appreciated his talent and impressive output. He walked the walk.

Highlights include hanging with Jon “Street” Dayton, Cameron Barrett and all my buddies in the dorms. Brian Johnsen, Jamie Arnold, Jovan and Brry Aleshire (Who wasn’t even enrolled…) other assorted fuckheads.

“Success Story: VisComm graduate Aaron Draplin Designs a Postage Stamp”
Northwestern Michigan Community College
March, 2019

Traverse City High School

High School Diploma
September 1989–June 1991
Traverse City, Mich.

Army jacket, Sony Walkman and Fugazi playing while walking between classes. Got to hide in the 2,000-ish students that went to Traverse City Senior High. And loved getting lost. Highlights include falling in with Bry Aleshire, Eric Campbell, Derek Denoyer, Brian Johnsen, Mike Buckmaster, Brian Moore and other wild-eyed fucks.

TBA Career Tech Center

Computer Aided Drafting
September 1989–June 1990, 11th Grade

David Greene was my instructor and was incredible. Firm but humane, he drilled in some incredible lessons: “Don’t phone it in.” I still hold that close to this day.

Plus we got to drive from TC Senior High over to TBA, which offered up many opportunities for mischief or a quick drive-thru at Hot-n-Now.

St. Francis High School

9th–10th Grade
September 1987–June 1991
Traverse City, Mich.

I prefer to forget my time here. Mom and Dad—with good intentions—got us into St. Francis when we moved into Traverse City. It was supposed to be the “premium option” for Traverse City schooling. What you quickly learned was this: The place was a bit of catch-all for kids who were kicked out of the public school. Some kind of “last chance” school before who-knows-what. So there was an element of wildness. Or maybe it was just my ninth grade class of miscreants?

I went out for football in 9th grade, so excited to finally have organized sports as an option. (Central Lake didn’t have anything for middle school kids.) But what a mistake that was. Killed my childhood love of the sport. I was just a kid, just 5'-3" at the start of the school year and went through the sorta-normal hazing of “getting pissed on in the shower” and other cool shit by lughead kids with no awareness.

Highlights included skating the bell tower, skipping class with Kevin McIntosh (and getting caught!) and ALL-OUT-WAR food fights in the cafeteria.

Immaculate Conception
Middle School

Last Couple Months of 8th Grade
April 1987–June 1987
Traverse City, Mich.

Thank you to Mr. Sturtz for being so welcoming. I came in in mid-April, so I was there for just a couple quick months before the summer started. I was terrified starting a new school, and having to endure that fucking dress code. White or light blue button-down shirt, blue or navy pants, tucked-in with dress shoes. (Go fuck yourself, dress code.)

Central Lake

Elementary & Middle School

Kindergarten–8th Grade
September 1978–April 1987
Central Lake, Mich.

All in all, I count myself lucky for the childhood I had. Had a good mom and dad who loved me, little sisters and friends just down the block. We’d all walk to grade school together. You know what I remember the most? The smells of school. Floor cleaner, hot lunches in the gym and Mom taping two dimes inside the lid of my Star Wars lunchbox so I could get some chocolate milk.