Stylishly dressed in fitted pants with a button up shirt and semi-pointed leather boots, 22-year-old graphic design major, Spencer Berry, considered himself shy and insecure in high school. Despite singing in a band and actively participating in school activities, he rarely opened up.
But when Berry discovered his passion for graphic design at EC, he decided to drop the band and follow a career choice that made him feel safe and stable.
“Once you find what you really want to do, it frees you from not knowing who you are or what you’re going to do,” Berry said.
He has been accepted to the Art Center of Design in Pasadena, one of the most competitive art schools on the West Coast, and is able to transfer in as a junior because of his impressive portfolio.
Enrolling in EC the spring of 2008, Berry enrolled in art instructor Andrea Micallef’s 2D design class, where he learned skills crucial to art and design.

“The faculty understand the importance of growing and supporting each other,” Berry said.
Berry is involved with the graphic design club, Vision 218, headed by instructor Thomas Rosa, Berry said.
After inviting employees from Pop Monster, a pop culture haven in Torrance, to visit the club, employees decided to showcase the art.
Berry is heading the design committee for the show on June 12.
“The theme for the show is ‘inner monster,’ and it’s interesting to see how people interpreted that theme,” Berry said.
Berry works for Innosence, where he designs graphs, charts and other info graphics to organize and simplify complicated information for presentations for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, (NASA), and other government organizations.
He also finds time to work on individual projects like album artwork for his favorite bands and sends them out with hopes of hearing back from them.
“What’s so great about graphic design,” he said, “is that you’re only contained to design rules. You’re only limited by your ideas.”