Graphic designer Ruben Somda shares highlights of Castleton career.

The journey to Ireland had the charm of a dream: castles in the mist, streets overflowing with art and history, and the thrilling anticipation of attending a one-of-a-kind presentation on graphic design for film. 

Ruben Somda and one of their closest peers, Wes Simard, and their Professor William Deforest embarked on this creative journey last spring. They submerged themselves in the Irish surroundings and hopped from one spot to the next. Between the conference, cobbled alleyways, and lively areas, Somda felt their lifelong passion and creative direction begin to take shape. 

“It was probably the biggest highlight of my life so far,” Somda said. 

Somda, a senior at Castleton University, described the workshop in Ireland as the culmination of years of exploration, struggle, and eventual clarity. 

“They were right; you don’t have to know what you’re doing career-wise just yet because it happens. If you told me a year ago this is what I would be doing, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Somda said. 

At first, Somda’s journey to this point was anything from simple. Their life took a significant turn once their family won an opportunity to come to the United States through the green card lottery. 

Somda was born in Burkina Faso, West Africa. As they reflected on the unexpected voyage from their youth home to Vermont, Somda revealed, “My mother was chosen, which is ironic because she never wanted to move.” 

After a brief time in New York, Somda’s family moved to Vermont, where they adjusted to a new language, culture, and way of life. 

But Somda thrived, attending four different schools throughout their young life and gaining determination and adaptability. These are qualities that would later support their artistic endeavors. Before finally choosing to come to VTSU Castleton, they grew up attending Burlington-area institutions including Champlain Valley Union High School and JFK Elementary in Winooski.

They initially considered enrolling at the University of Vermont, where their father was a maintenance staff member and offered tuition remission.

 “I have beef with UVM. They had eliminated all the programs I wanted to do the year I enrolled,” Somda said. 

Although Castleton wasn’t their first choice, it was the best option in a strange turn of events. 

“I feel terrible saying all this now, but I’m glad I chose Castleton; I feel like this is the better call,” they admitted.

Somda’s good friend, Wes Simard, who’s known them since high school, has witnessed the growth from “unapproachable” – at least at first glance – to a cherished creative partner and friend. 

“I first met Ruben in high school. I was a junior while Ruben was a sophomore. We met through a Dungeons and Dragons group. I thought Ruben was very unapproachable at first. If you’ve never talked to them from an outside perspective, it’s like, oh my gosh, that person hates me,” Simard said. “Then you talk to them, and they’re like, this is so great. I thought that Ruben was not cool with being friends with me, but then I met Ruben and talked to them, and they were great.”

Eventually, Wes and Ruben became close friends in college and through the pandemic. 

“I transferred to Castleton just to be with Ruben because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was like, oh wow, awesome, let’s go hang out with Ruben. We eventually did every club together. Anything Ruben did, I was also a part of,” Simard said.

At Castleton, their collaboration blossomed from design projects like the Rutland Pride logo to an independent study on graphic design in film and television. 

After meeting them in an introductory graphic design course and visual storytelling, professors William Deforest and Sam Davis-Boyd immediately recognized Somda’s unique style and talent. 

“They came in and immediately did beautiful work. They did beautiful work, matching type and images, and you could see already their involvement in InDesign and beautiful messaging.”

 He pointed out that politics, social identity, and the reflection of modern society have significantly impacted Somda’s art. Their work frequently challenges convention by combining artistic talent with a consciousness of the world’s significant issues, Deforest said. 

Professor Sam Davis Boyd recalls Somda’s early days in her course. 

“Ruben took my Visual Storytelling class in the spring of 2022, and they’ve been a force in the program ever since,” Boyd said. “They’ve done much in their time here and made a big impact. It’s going to be weird when they’re not here anymore.” 

As the current leader of the university’s Content Lab, Somda took on projects like the recent voter registration campaign and the merger. 

“This was the first voting campaign we’ve done as a merged institution,” Boyd explains. “Ruben did a phenomenal job navigating new challenges, working with different departments, and even managing to get materials posted on new websites.”

Deforest also noticed this while in Ireland. 

“The creative energy around them constantly inspired Ruben and Wes and they bounced ideas off one another. It was really exciting to see,” Deforest said. 

When asked, “what’s next?” Somda didn’t really had a sure answer, at least not until the journey to Ireland to see graphic designer Annie Atkins speak at the Adobe MAX Conference. 

Atkins, a renowned film graphic designer, wowed them with her method of creating movie sets and props. She talked about how she makes everything from documents and newspapers to carpets and wallpaper. Atkins immediately created excitement in the duo. 

“Wes and I got through half of the presentation and kept pausing to talk about how cool it was. You can do anything in this field; it’s exciting. We were talking afterward and told each other we had to do this,” Somda said. 

Before the trip, they created an independent study course on graphic design for TV and movies due to their newfound enthusiasm, looking into various projects and finally reaffirming their common objective: attending Atkins’ workshop in Ireland.

It was an undertaking to raise the money for this trip. Encouraged to follow their goals, the duo set up a GoFundMe campaign. To help with some of their costs, they also created a presentation seeking assistance from Castleton’s Student Government Association (SGA). 

“At that point, we began considering what we could say to SGA to get them to agree to support us,” Somda said. 

In their presentation to SGA, they highlighted the potential for bringing these new talents back to campus and the educational advantages of attending the workshop. They hoped that Castleton could provide opportunities for additional students interested in graphic design and film.

“At this point, we had already gotten the tickets for the workshop, so we were going either way. It was just a matter of whether it would be easy,” Simard said.

The workshop was a hands-on graphic design experience. 

“It was probably one of the biggest highlights of my life so far. I’ve never really been a person who thinks that when I put my mind to something, it will happen, and it takes time for me to get to that point. So being confident in something and thinking this needs to happen helped,” they said.

Somda said they will leave the University believing that artistic expression has the power to bridge cultural boundaries, tell stories, and influence people’s lives, in addition to having a deeper appreciation for design. Somda said they are prepared to leave their mark on the world of opportunities that lie ahead, whether that’s here in the United States or in Ireland, where the duo plans to move to.