Shifting from one possible career to another can be challenging for anyone, especially when the first dream didn’t quite work out.
For Harper College student Dan Goers, it was radio broadcasting that didn’t go where he expected. After attending Columbia College Chicago, he went to work for a small radio station in downstate Mendota. He didn’t make it on the air and wound up working in sales. After that, a job at Chili’s, classes at Second City.
He decided to switch gears and try graphic design. Less than a year later, people all over the Chicago area will be seeing his work adorned on the Ravinia posters and advertisements that will soon start popping up everywhere.
“I realized it wasn’t really my bag of chips,” Goers said of his previous career in radio broadcasting. “I finally feel like I’ve found something I am talented at.”
The 28-year-old Mount Prospect resident was the winner of the annual poster contest for the popular Highland Park summer festival. He received a $1,000 for designing the poster, which features a hybrid between a music note and a flower. He also feels both pride and validation for the new field he has only been studying since last summer.
“Everything is flowing pretty quickly,” he said. “It’s been less than a year, and to win the Ravinia contest, it’s a pretty big accomplishment.”
Goers said he felt particularly honored to have his design chosen because this is a special year for Ravinia. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Women’s Board, which is tasked with promoting the festival and developing appreciation and understanding of music and the arts throughout Chicagoland.
To design the poster, he started with the music note, and then thought of the flower concept and melded the two together. His work was picked by a panel of judges over two other finalists.
Goers said he is happy for not only the validation, but also because so many others will be able to see his work — even if they do not know who made it. For Goers, it is just the next step in a budding career.
“It’s huge to get any kind of exposure,” he said. “I’m looking at 2012 as the year of potential. I am going to do everything I can to push myself. I know I can do something great, but I just don’t know exactly what that is yet. But how do you know if you don’t push yourself?”
