I ended up here at CCP [Community College of Philadelphia] because I didn’t have a smooth transition into Temple—that’s where I wanted to go. I wasn’t given a straight-forward decline or acceptance into Temple, and at that time I was in a program that didn’t allow me to wait that long to hear a final decision. My program presented CCP—it was a quick way to get me started with building my credits. I saw they offered art and design, graphic design, it was way cheaper so I was like, ‘I can go to CCP!’ I also heard about CME [Center for Male Engagement] in the Student Life Building, and it went on from there. It was full of brothers like me—it felt like a home just to be there.

I see myself doing a lot with graphic design. I want to do advertisements, logos, branding—I make logos for people now. I want to do Photoshop—album cover designs…! I know so much, and I practice a lot. What keeps me going is that I keep learning something new from it.”

Editor’s Note: Antonio is graduating from the College in May 2018 and will be transfetring to Thomas Jefferson University in the fall to pursue graphic design. He is also a graduate from the College’s Center for Male Engagement program.