Office of Communications: Personnel
Dana Mays
When Dana Mays started at the Office of Communications in August of 2006, the senior graphic designer brought this philosophy with her: "You should always do what you enjoy doing," she said. "Work should be something that you totally enjoy."
From her smile to her designs, Dana's addition to the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences' Griffin campus has allowed her to bring her talents back to her hometown.
After receiving a bachelor of fine arts degree in graphic design from the University of West Georgia, Dana spent most of her working years commuting to Atlanta, passing by the Griffin campus on her way out of town. "I would ride past the station and wonder about the interesting things going on," she said.
Now, by crafting ways to visually illustrate the college, she doesn't have to wonder. In her job, she designs brochures, publications, booklets and exhibits as well as assists Griffin faculty with large format printing and consultations. Along with CAES web developer Ruth Jarret, she also teaches classes on using PowerPoint to create large format posters.
At a previous job with a company called Duni, she designed food packaging for the food service and airline industry. "Because of that experience with design, I'm interested in obtaining a degree in food science," she said, a field that is heavily researched on the Griffin campus. "I have a greater appreciation for fields in science. It's a continual learning process for me."
Before coming to the University of Georgia, Dana also worked for Home Depot's corporate office as a production artist, Girl Scouts of Pine Valley Council, Quad Graphics, the world's largest privately held printing company providing commercial printing and print management for magazines such as People, Time, Popular Science and Newsweek, and as an art teacher at a private school that was once located on the old Tift College campus in semi-rural Forsyth, GA.
"I knew when I was little that I was going to be an artist," she said. After 14 years, "I've enjoyed all of my jobs. From each one they've allowed me to become a better graphic designer."
Off the job, Dana stays busy helping out with her daughter Taylor's Girl Scout troop and mentoring and volunteering through her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
She also paints and draws, focusing on people and abstract art.
"The visual arts aren't really a major thing in Griffin, which is not a good thing," she said.
Dana's determined to change that. "My future plan is to have an art show," she said. She wants to create a scholarship for students interested in both art and returning to Griffin.