Gary Marsh had long been interested in design and computers. He was hired on his 16th birthday at Dataphile, a small shop in Watsonville, selling Commodore Amigas when computers were still largely hobby machines and digital graphic design was just emerging. This work sparked his interest as he had always been interested in cartoons, cell animation, and stop motion Claymation, aspiring to be a Disney animator.

He started art classes at Cabrillo but then put his education on hold for his family and started a roots-based rockabilly band, The Chop Tops. The band evolved into an “awesome” full-time career spanning two decades with 7 releases, 30 U.S. tours, and 2 AU tours.

During their early years of playing music, his first love of visual arts was part of his day jobs in the form of graphic design. As a self-taught graphic designer, he worked in the local Santa Cruz print industry.

“After retiring from the band, I decided to apply myself following my passion for visual and graphic arts, just as I did with music. I was given the opportunity to study with great people in their respective fields in the digital media world - all amazing instructors as well. There wasn’t one class I didn’t love,” says Gary.

Gary was honored to be nominated as student of the month, he kept a 4.0 GPA, and wanting to assist his peers, he tutored at the HUB and worked as Tech Support in the CTC where he connected with emerging talent.

He’s currently freelancing, working as a Digital Designer on websites, book covers, video production, print ads, and many more marketing solutions.

“You name it, I’ve been enjoying designing it.”