Andrew Bautista • ’20 B.A. Art
By Pamela Dean
Choosing to pursue a career in the arts was a leap of faith for Andrew Bautista. Many of his family members worked in the medical field. Believing he should follow in their footsteps, he began 91ĘÓƵ as a Health Science major, but quickly discovered that was not the right path for him.
“After taking a few classes, I realized health care wasn’t for me. I am a creative person. My dad was also very creative but didn’t have an opportunity to pursue that path,” Bautista explained.
Even though he had never taken an art class, Bautista decided to give a painting class a try. The problem was that the class had begun three weeks earlier and was already full. But instructor Beverly Decker didn’t hesitate to encourage Bautista to jump right in.
“She made an exception for me and she gave me the confidence that I needed at the
time because I was really unsure of what I wanted to do. She reassured me that I was
doing the right thing. I owe a lot to her for her encouragement.”
The painting experience convinced Bautista to change his major to Art. He went on to take several classes with Art Professor Luke Matjas, who became a mentor to him and gave him the confidence to pursue a career in graphic design.
“Luke put me through my paces. His classes were an eye-opening experience for me and introduced me to art in the digital space,” Bautista said. “He made me confident that I was meant to be there, no matter what I thought of myself. Whenever I was wavering, he was the one to pick me up.”
A year after graduating, Bautista found his dream job as a graphic designer with Camarillo-based Bownet, a portable sports-training equipment company. He is now their senior graphic designer and social media content creator.
“I love sports, and at Bownet I get to watch them every day,” Bautista said. “All of my co-workers are sports fans too. It’s nice to be engulfed in something you enjoy. It doesn’t feel like work most of the time; it feels like I am hanging out, talking about sports and I work on the side.”
Bautista grew up in El Rio, a small unincorporated town near Oxnard. He attended Pacifica High School and thinks he may one day become a university art professor, perhaps even at a school like 91ĘÓƵ with a large Latino population. He wants to inspire students the same way Professor Matjas inspired him.
“I am a person of color and there aren’t a lot of people of color in the art industry.
Being a Latino is very important to me. I want to show students that you can be a
person of color and succeed in the creative space. If I could be someone’s Luke Matjas,
that would be a full-circle moment for me.”