Five on Friday

Featuring David Giove '06, web developer and visual design specialist

1. How do you get to use your art background working in IT?

I do a broad range of design work for IT. I could be creating Web site designs, taking photographs of the campus, or creating dynamic user interfaces with Flash. Flash is a good medium for me to be creative, and yet be the programmer at the same time. My minor in CS combined with my artistic skills and training really help me to bridge the gap between the creative and the (computer) science demands of my job. For instance, I am able to see the needs and limits of a design before I send it to our team of programmers.

That being said, the projects that I tend to enjoy the most are the ones where I use my creative muscles and can lead the creative direction in a design.

2. Other than digital art, what mediums do you like to work with?

I really love photography. Occasionally I will use my skills for family portraits or senior graduation portraits for friends. But I mostly photograph my family and document our lives. I have the equipment to start a darkroom, and I hope to get that set up and running soon. I am also interested in screen printing. I have a four-color screen printing press, and a good friend of mine who has an MFA in printmaking is going to be collaborating a piece with me to print over Christmas break. I am very much looking forward to that.

3. We hear your cubicle is chock full of collectibles. What types of things do you collect?

I truly enjoy Pixar, and a large portion of my cubicle reflects that. I have a cardboard cut out of Buzz Lightyear, as well as figurines from The Incredibles, Cars, Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc. Some are from my youth like Dick Tracy, Star Wars, Ninja Turtles, Rambo, The X-Files, Aladdin and the California Raisins. I enjoy origami, and a bunch of models I have created are hanging out around my desk as well.

4. How did you and your wife meet?

My wife and I were both home schooled, and we attended the same group lessons in upstate NY for a decade or more before we graduated. After our graduation, a group of us home school graduates made it a point to get together regularly. After a while, Amy and I developed a relationship. I soon went off to ONU, some 600+ miles away, and we continued our long distance relationship until we got married the next summer.

In this time, I was in constant contact with her father, in hopes that he would some day soon give me the hand of his firstborn of five daughters in marriage. I made special trips back to NY to talk with him. To give you an idea of what her family was like at the time: Her family had strict rules about where Amy could be, and whose company she could hold at any particular time. Her parents would have her fill out what they called a "flight plan" before she left the house. This sheet would have to be completely filled out and approved with the signature of both parents. It would have the destinations, the company, the phone numbers and the times she would be at each destination. And to top things off, at the time I was really into skulls, chains and electric guitars. You can image what kind of reception her father gave me!

Today we are very happily married with 3 children, Noah (4), Frencesca (2), and Giovanna (1.)

5. What's one Christmas activity you're looking forward to doing with your kids this year?

A few years back, my wife had the idea of spending part of Christmas day in our local hospital, visiting children who were unfortunate enough to be spending one of the most cherished holidays in their care. It has become a tradition for us ever since. We have a giant heart for children, and we like seeing our own little ones serving in this tradition. They take time to look through their rooms for toys they want to give away, and they present them to these hospitalized kids on their own volition. For quite a few years we didn't have extended family in the area, and we loved sharing part of our Christmas day with these kids and their families.

One of the unique things about Christmas for our family this year is that we are not giving and (attempting not to) receive presents. We wanted to make a greater impact with our money, giving our entire gift budget to those who are in need -- especially those in need spiritually. We chose to give to World Vision, using their year-round donation program. Each month over this next year, World Vision will send a card detailing how our money is being used to purchase things like clothing, shoes, emergency food, Bibles, care for an orphan, and more. We will hopefully be able to show our children how our Christmas money has shared God's love with people who need it.

As parents, we strive to make the holiday as meaningful as possible, in spite of our culture. We try to show them that the meaning of Christmas is not presents. It is the gift of Jesus, the God/man who was sent as a gift for a sinful mankind. My happiness for this gift is what I hope to imprint in my children. I am very much looking forward to this project and perhaps newfound tradition.