Evan Baumeister

Back to School

Going back to school after 13 years was a daunting prospect for Evan Baumeister, but he was finally ready to immerse himself into a world of 20 somethings. He says Cal State Long Beach gave him that second chance at pursuing an education.

 “I had to finally get off the couch and stop watching Jerry Springer,” said Evan who admits to not being ready in earlier years.

When he got accepted to Cal State Long Beach at 36-years-old, he was the happiest person that day to be accepted into the Beach family.

“Some thanks to me and some thanks to the incredible professors, I eventually got into the exclusive BFA club of Graphic Design,” said Evan.

He found that, while some programs are very theory based and go by the textbook, his work at The Beach was much more creatively stimulating, and he was able to advance with a high grade point average and accumulate valuable experience.

A self-admitted late bloomer, Evan found he had more motivation the second time around.

“Find something you like and be patient with it. There are no dumb questions,” he said.

Baumeister cited typography professor John Doyle as especially helpful, and a source of direction. It might have been their Boston roots, or the fact that they could talk baseball between lessons.

All 24 students who learned alongside Evan finished the program together. It helped to have the same people in his classes each semester because there was less social pressure, especially when taking constructive criticism.

 “It made for better projects,” he said.

Today, Evan is building websites and using his marketing skills for eight historic pubs in the Boston area. He is also excited to announce the impending launch of his original short film, ‘Mass Transit,’ a documentary about hip hop in the early 90’s.

The film documents a movement of diverse cultures coming together across the red, green, orange and blue subway lines of downtown Boston. It was a period of time at the end of the baby boomer era and the beginning of the Generation xers.

“In the movie, some hip hop artist sing about a hard life and some sing about science fiction; each subway line represents a social class, or unique cultural group,” Evan said.

Evan plans to continue applying his design skills for clients and his own creative project, and credits CSULB for giving him the tools and the opportunities to thrive in the industry.