We recently connected with Gelisa Miller and have shared our conversation below.

Gelisa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

I would change the educational system and make it more relatable to the real world. Yes, you still need the basics of math, science, and English, but kids also need to learn about managing personal finances, real estate, practicing interpersonal and communication skills, etc. The school system expects high school seniors to graduate and be ready for the world the next day and that’s not realistic. The main reason kids get in so much debt in college is because they do not understand credit and they think credit cards are free money. I personally think that kids are set-up for failure and by the time they reach 25+ they are stuck paying off debt that could have been avoided if they are taught properly. Also I think that people need to realize that college is not for everyone and also not everyone’s goal so there also needs to be opportunities brought forward for those that are not on the college path and they need to realize that just because they do not go to college that they can still be successful.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started getting into Graphic Design my 10th-grade year of high school when I joined the yearbook staff. During my time on the yearbook staff, I learned the Adobe Creative Suite where I got to learn how to use Photoshop and how to make templates and grids and photography.

When we would have picture day, I would ask the photographer a million questions about everything she was doing and was the first to volunteer to help because I wanted to learn everything. Before I joined yearbook I knew I wanted to work with computers but I thought that would be computer engineering or something like that, but once we received the finished printed yearbook I knew I wanted to be a graphic designer.

Fast forward to 2022 and I am still growing my business GMill Designs. My company consists of doing logos, flyers, websites. photography, animations/videography, and custom everyday items like t-shirts, mugs, hats, and tumblers, etc.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My final goal for my business is to open a summer/after school business to help kids learn more about graphic design and how it can help them have a side income or have a career. I want to have a place where they can have access to computers, cameras, design software, and photography studios.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

This story is one that I will never forget and I feel like its also what keeps me striving forward. In college, I had a class where we got to work with actual clients and we had to work against our other classmates to win the bid. My professor asked to speak to me after class one day and he told me that he had a problem with my designs. He was upset that I followed the clients design instructions and not his. In my mind I wanted to win and I thought we should follow the request of the client and not him because the design was not for him. At the end of our conversation he said to me that he believed that I WOULD NOT get a graphic design job after graduation. I left his office and cried in my car for about 15 minutes because I felt that I was a good designer that I had a lot to offer. All in all he was wrong, but this conversation had made me push harder and learn more about graphic designer everyday. The conversation I had with him hurt but deep down I know it made me a better designer. Oh, also I won the contract for design that he did not approve of. You have to remember to keep pushing and trust yourself and God and you will come out on top!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gelisa09.wixsite.com/gmilldesigns
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gmill_designs/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gelisa-m-29abb0148/