👆My Path👇
This section currently displays my Work HIstory. But as you can see from the title, I am changing this to my Play History. I'll include my history of playing games, board games and video games. I like this UI for presenting information about myself so I'll keep the UI and change the content.
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2016 - Present
Self-employed:
Working Independently.From 2016, Jheri worked for sub-contractors as well as clients with ongoing needs because they purchased websites that were more complex than their available time allowed them to manage. To ease their transition, Jheri continued providing support and, in the process, gained valuable insight into the distinctions between corporate, small business, and large-budget web project stakeholders. His experience includes being a successful one-man web start-up, a self-employed businessman creating web solutions for other small businesses, and a sub-contractor working for major corporations like IBM and the Department of Defense, sometimes through triple-layered sub-contracts. This breadth of roles enabled Jheri to understand the unique strengths and challenges of various organizational ecosystems, as well as the decision-making dynamics that either resolved or perpetuated problems within them.
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2015 - 2016
Full Sail University:
Studying Remotely.Jheri initially struggled with pricing his services, inadvertently undercharging for the quality he provided. This led to attracting clients who undervalued his work, often expecting services for free. Through these challenges, Jheri learned the importance of establishing clear legal agreements to ensure payment for services rendered. To further enhance his skills, he enrolled in Full Sail University, aiming to refine his craft even though his quality was already well-regarded. However, the difficulty in holding clients accountable eventually prompted Jheri to leave school and focus on finding stable work opportunities instead.
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2011 - 2015
Sub-contracted independently &
via recruiter-placement.After graduating from American University, Jheri applied his education and experience to develop Phantom Records' website into a rich, multimedia, database-driven site. After updating the site to the most modern it can be, his employer, Phantom Records, moved the site into maintenance mode. Without a site to apply his talents, Jheri negotiated the option to take on contracts that would allow him to remain current and broaden his skill set. Between 2013 and now, Jheri completed several contracts building sites for the TSA, the Glenmont United Methodist Church, and a start-up government contractor.
Now that Jheri has demonstrated his ability to create modern, database-driven websites, he is broadening his skill set with bleeding-edge Web Design, JavaScript Web Development, and Data Visualization Programming for the NIH. Jheri's longer-term plan is to master both the creative and technical aspects of creating electronic experiences. Additionally, he is under the direction of his mentor, learning the software development lifecycle to round out his skills with project management and business development. In a few years, his expertise will equip him to contribute to enterprise-level, web-based projects and step in at any stage to ensure the beauty of its design, the soundness of its programming, and the success of the project through professional project management. He will be a valuable asset on any web-based project. -
2003 - 2011
American University &
My 1st Undergraduate DegreeShortly after Jheri was hired at a promising new start-up, the tragic events of 9/11 led investors to withdraw funding, forcing the company to shut down. With start-up funding drying up across Silicon Valley, Jheri decided it was the perfect opportunity to return to school. Seeking a more fulfilling educational experience, he moved to the East Coast and enrolled at American University, where he designed a unique degree program combining Graphic Design, Multimedia, and Web Programming. This initiative led to Jheri earning the only Bachelor of Science in Multimedia Design and Development in the University's history. While attending school part-time, he worked part-time to immediately apply his studies to real-world projects. On May 8, 2011, he graduated with a 3.49 GPA and was honored to walk with the University’s top-performing students.
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1996 - 2000
Overseas Travel - Web Research
When traveling between school and work became too grueling, Jheri's high school friend invited him to move to New Zealand for a change of pace. There, Jheri created an online video game retailer that received 1.2 million hits in its first year. He and his partner made the front page of New Zealand's largest newspaper and were featured on television as an innovative, technology-based retailer. At the time, theirs was the only website featuring videos of gameplay to overcome buyer's reluctance and give customers a preview of gameplay before purchasing. A little-known fact about Jheri is that Amazon.com cited Jheri's website, www.gamescape.co.nz, in its Patent document US7792705. You can copy and paste this link to see that document and search for www.gamescape.co.nz to see Jheri's citation at: patents.google.com.
During the time Jheri was in New Zealand, the dot-com bubble started growing. Unemployment in the U.S. hit an all-time low of 4.6%. Tech companies were searching high and low for creative talent to fuel innovative start-ups. When Jheri's parent learned of this, they made Jheri move back to the United States to seek more lucrative employment than they estimated he would find in New Zealand. Jheri was engaged to get married and he was forced to break off his engagement and leave his girlfriend. It set a stage for a tumultuous relationship with his parents from then onward.
Jheri moved back to the United States to leverage his experience in his New Zealand start-up and grow his experience in the larger, more competitive U.S. market. In Los Gatos, California, Jheri learned the value of separating the front-end from the back-end so specialized talent can be more productive. Jheri was promoted to Product Manager after creating a prototype to redesign his employer's software interface based on user feedback. Later, he was promoted to Director of User Interface Design. Jheri's work helped sell their web application and their start-up for several hundred thousand dollars and won Jheri an invitation to join the same executive team at their next start-up. -
1995 - 1996
Animation Trade School & PC Tech Support Trade Work
After feeling disconnected from the workforce for too long, yet realizing he needed to remain current with evolving technologies, Jheri decided to take a new approach: to work while going to school. He took a job at a computer store as a salesperson and technician so he could personally build the products he sold. He also attended animation school to continue his pursuit of digital design. He learned customer service and technical support and then moved on to network administration, obtaining his Novell Netware Certification and earning $60 an hour doing network "house calls." Jheri's boss called his computers "bullet-proof." It may have had something to do with Jheri's 27-step preparation plan used on every computer he built.
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1994 - 1995
Skywalker Ranch (Intern), George Lucas Educational Foundation (Intern Data-entry Clerk) &
Finding My DirectionJheri left the University of San Francisco for a once-in-a-lifetime internship at Skywalker Ranch with his idol, George Lucas. Jheri became an IT Assistant at the George Lucas Educational Foundation where he improved his computer support skills while studying the convergence of education and technology in the Foundation's specialized education technology library. He also used Mozilla during its first launch and was excited about his future. Researching the Foundation's library revealed a computer animation school in Sunnyvale, California. Immediately following his internship's end, Jheri moved to Sunnyvale and enrolled.
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1989 - 1994
University of San Francisco (1994) Oakland Hills Fire (1991) Community College (1990) & Started DBA Phantom Records (1989)
After deciding he would like to become better at Graphic Design, Jheri left the workforce to focus full-time on education. He enrolled in Community College in Oakland, California, majoring in Desktop Publishing. Jheri transferred to the University of San Francisco to continue his education. He was elected Freshman Class President in his first year and won as a write-in after memorizing the names of 200 freshmen he had just met. He is the only one who has ever done that in the school's history.
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1988 - 1989
Image Graphics Co. (My First Design Job)
Jheri got his first job in Graphic Design at a small design studio in Oakland, California. Back then, computers were slower and relatively more expensive. Jheri learned to design on a small black and white screen using Super Paint on a Mac SE/30 and ran the mail merge for the studio's marketing campaign using Microsoft Word. The company was attempting a Work from Home model and if only A.I. had been available then, we could have done it, successfully. Work from Home offices are less likely to suffer a pandemic and less likely to spread infectious disease between workers.
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1984-1988
The College Preparatory School
Not everyone attends a high school renowned for honor, integrity, and creativity. Jheri attended CPS in Oakland, California, where he acclimated to intellectual rigor, problem-solving, critical thinking, and teamwork through sports. The University of California recognizes CPS as an honors institution because all classes are taught at the honors level. Jheri graduated with a 3.5 GPA, which, when adjusted for honors-level coursework, translates to a 4.5 GPA under the grading system used by post-secondary institutions and universities.
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See My
Graphic
Designs
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