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For a few months, I had the pleasure of working as a contracted graphic designer—through the Kansas City branch of Creative Circle—where I was placed at a company called Heartland Waffles™. At the time, Heartland had a one-person marketing department but the marketing coordinator was leaving (in two days). As soon as my interview concluded, I was immediately hired and sent to a meeting. From there I got a quick tour of the files I would be helping to rebrand and was happily sent to work. During my time there, I completed over 430 projects including marketing collateral, packaging, trade show materials, flyers, electronic forms, a vehicle wrap, decals, and labels. Other responsibilities included serving as a visual consultant, assisting in small photo shoots, and recording/editing a corporate podcast. I had never done packaging, vehicle wraps, trade show displays, or a podcast commercially but I've always been a quick learner and I am incredibly familiar with what I call the holy trinity (Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign) as well different printing processes. The position taught me a lot and gave me the opportunity to work with some incredible people. The free waffles were nice too. It was certainly a busy job. I had a massive list of projects and many times I didn't have a lot of time to complete them. In October, the company was bought out. My position was cut along with several positions concerned with innovation and marketing. Regardless, I enjoyed the position, the experience, and the people.