During the summer of 2022, my instructor emailed all students enrolled into graphic design majors about an annual contest involving a program book for North Carolina Community Colleges.

 

To compete, two students from the same community college will be selected as the winners for the front and back cover of the program book. I saw this as an opportunity to demonstrate my graphic design skills and stand out from my fellow peers. I developed thumbnails, roughs, and finalized my version of the front cover while my classmate, Khettie Chanthaheuang, also competed and designed her version of the back cover. Khettie and I were informed by representatives of NCCC as the winners, and we were given the chance to finalize our submissions, per the representatives’ request, before publication. Once our designs were approved, multiple copies of the program book were distributed between October 9th to the 11th in Raleigh, NC. This would mark the first time that Rowan-Cabarrus Community College had two design students featured on the front and back cover for an organization that represents all 58 community colleges in North Carolina. We were both recognized by RCCC’s government, the board, and the president herself, Carol Spalding in a press conference covered by the Salisbury Post.