almahoffmann.com
Author of the book Sketching as Design Thinking.
Some students have called me “the almanator.” Others hold on looking at me for a long time waiting for me to say “awesome” during a critique. And others keep me in their lives as long as they can as a mentor and later on as a colleague and a friend. Seeing a student become the best they can be and even become better than me, is my ultimate goal. I treasure the moments of discovery. I push them to give me their best and nothing but the best because not doing so is a betrayal to their potential and intellect. As much as I push them, I am also available to hold their hand when life gets tough. The design journey to become a professional resembles a conversion of sorts. Students need to learn to look at life from the perspective of a problem solver who wants to improve the quality of life in society, one project at a time, one reading at a time, and one critique at a time. One semester doing this and they realize that design is so much more than just pushing pixels around the screen; design is life.