I am an alumnus from the Class of 1979, and I am currently taking classes at Wesleyan again, in the GLSP. During my four years as a Wes undergrad, I took many studio art classes, probably one per semester. My initial intent was to major in studio art, but the required criticism/discussion seminars didn't suit me. So I obtained my degree in Psychology and kept the creation of art as a side pursuit while I was a student.

Similarly, I then embarked on a four-decade working career consisting mainly of non-clinical positions in purchasing and project management for a hospital network, while maintaining a side job as a weekly editorial cartoonist for a daily newspaper. This gave me a creative outlet that I could rely on when the stresses of my main job threatened to crush my soul. Every single week, on a Wednesday or Thursday evening, I could count on the creative itch being scratched and the right side of my brain getting some much-needed exercise. I did this cartooning work for even longer than I worked in my "day jobs". I began it earlier and ended it later. I would still be doing it if the long-time owners of the newspaper hadn't sold it to a corporation that immediately terminated all freelance artists and writers at the beginning of 2024.