Mexican-born Luis Sahagun has long been involved in creating. However, his self-discovery as an artist came as a late bloom in a lengthy journey. “I wasn’t completely naïve to being an artist, I was always a drawer,” describing his transition. Even in his early years as a sketch artist, Luis would find himself going through a few more with thoughts of becoming an architect or work in automotive body work. This, joined with prioritizing happiness, a career with the promise of money-making would lead him to choose product design as a major in college. “I was hard-headed cause I wanted to be a designer. I get to make things and get paid really well. You can make 6 figures within 5 years, you can be the guy that designs the next iPhone. It just seemed trendy; make money and be happy.” He goes on to say that it wasn’t without a passion for making that would allow him to continue this route. “In high school I used to be really good with fixing bodies of cars, painting them, making them look nice. I really loved it, and a professor [in high school] just motivated me to be more. When I found out what product design was, that was the first time there was a match. A match between working with my hands and I could have this academic degree that’s going to make me money and bring me a career.” Luis would find an opportunity to attend Southern Illinois University through the chance program, a two-semester extended academic transition for students who do not meet the standards for admission. After being undecided for two years, here he was still often recognized for his talent, “I could have been a minor in drawing cause I had to take so many art classes and everyone told me I was a sculptor; that I should be a sculptor.” Even after being encouraged to do more with his talent, Halfstack Magazine | March 2017
he would still blow off the art thing. Still not to be deterred from his dream job working for a consulting firm, Luis would indeed find a career and adequate pay in design, but not the happiness he also sought. “I enjoyed what I did cause I was doing drawings everyday. I was around these amazing objects, but there was something missing and I didn’t know what it was. It felt so superficial.” He never once mentioned his unhappiness stemmed from a difficult boss, long hours, or a bad benefit package; the cliché complaints of most millennials that move into the work force. “I worked there for almost a year and a half and that was when the recession affected me and I was part of a whole design team. At that time I didn’t want to be a designer anymore. It wasn’t for me. At least the field I was in.” When Luis made the decision to leave his
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