Douglas Laura

Douglas Laura

Douglas Laura is a cartoonist, but understands well that success requires more than pen and ink.

It requires technological savvy – a familiarity with the digital world, whether expressed on a laptop, a tablet or a phone. Success also increasingly relies on a college degree, which allows students not only to develop and hone the skills they need, but prove that fact to employers.

To increase his skills and his marketability, the Liberal Arts major is also working on a New Media Design certificate through SUNY Broome’s Business Information Technology department.

“Web development has always been something that has interested me. When you have an idea now, the first thing is you have to build a website,” he reflected.

Laura, who has another semester ahead of him before graduation, attended SUNY Broome a decade ago as a music major. While he enjoyed the program, he wasn’t in the headspace to succeed at school and left before finishing his degree.

He then took a job as a technician at Xerox, moonlighting as a cartoonist. But the father of two kept hitting walls when he tried to advance his career, and recognized that it was time to pursue that long-deferred dream and finish his degree.

He made the leap and became a full-time student, dedicating himself fully to the effort.

“I have more focus now. I learned in my psychology class that it’s not until you’re 25 that your prefrontal cortex develops,” he said. “I want to be here.”

His program of study is two-fold: Half of his classes focus on art, while the other half consist of programming classes related to web development, such as HTML, CSS and Javascript.

“BIT lets me incorporate art into a more practical avenue,” he said, explaining his dual focus.

Along the way, he has been inspired by his professors, including Sandra Wright in BIT and Patricia Evans in Art and Design, both of whom he describes as “super-supportive and fantastic.” Going back to school, he said, has been one of the best choices he could make for his future.

After graduation, he plans to re-enter the workforce with a new focus. “I’d love to get a job where tech meets art, wherever that may be,” he said.

Click here for more information on our Business Information Management programs. Click here for information on New Media Design, and here for information on Web Development. Apply today at www.sunybroome.edu/apply.

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