My name is Danielle Barnett and I am currently a student at The University of Texas at Dallas pursuing a degree in Art & Technology. I have been working in web and graphic design since the age of 17 when I was employed with C-TREC (Computer Technology Research and Education Center) in Houston, TX.

I was home-schooled most of my life, though I finished up my high school education at a small private Lutheran school. Contrary to rumors floating around out there, home-schooled children do have social lives.  I was involved in basketball, softball, piano, violin, choir, and church.  All my learning was not done at home; I was in some classes with other home-school kids taught by mothers who had degrees in those subjects.  Though home-schooling was a fairly decent experience, I decided I wanted to go to a “real” school my senior year in hopes of extending my chances for playing college basketball.

I was recruited to play basketball at Concordia University in Austin and that’s where I spent my first three years of college.  Unfortunately Concordia didn’t have a degree which really touched on my passions.  I was majoring in Math and while it’s really quite exciting and I'm good at it, I had no clue what I would do with that degree after graduation.

While at Concordia I was responsible for creating and maintaining the website for the Athletics Department.  In addition to renewing my enthusiasm for graphic and web design, I also discovered my love for photography.  Clearly, when looking at a school where I could pursue my interests, UTD was an obvious choice. 

Changing schools, moving to a new city; why not throw in some more change?  I joined the U.S. Army Reserves Military Police Corps in September 2005.  Five months of training (May - October 2006) delayed my graduation from school. I feel that service to my country, regardless of how much I may disagree with politics and the governing officials, is more important than school any day.  Some people hate our present and the way this country is being run, but that’s no reason to abandon your country and those fighting to make sure the freedoms this country enjoys will last for hundreds of years to come.