So yeah, I'm a graduate of the Choffin Career Center Commercial Arts program, and proud of it. Me and all my classmates all were set upon the world to become these awesome money-making artists . This was in 1999, more or less. More or less meaning, that I went through some bad things as a teenager, and dropped out of school. But I still attended this class everyday regardless of whether I graduated or not (Which I did, later.). I absolutely adored the things that were learned way back then. I met friends that I'm still cool with (, , , , ), as well as the CA teacher of some 30 years, Miss Romaine Ruffley.
Miss Ruffley is and always will be a great inspiration to me. I learned a lot of things artistically, the beginnings of PS, Illustrator, general cutting and matting your works and my favorite lesson...hand lettering. Yeah, weird ain't it? It is a skill I must use to this day, because I don't own Illustrator or any lettering program like it, so I have to letter a lot of RL works the way she taught me. With a T-square and a triangle, right? Right?!
Anyways, because of my love for the class and my attendance problem in regular school, I sort of just stayed there and learned more about ART. Well, upon graduation from the program, we were all given the privilege of coming back every year to judge the annual portfolio review for the classes under us. The years have gone by and more of the alumni have moved away or working, or whatever, but a scant few of the regular judges still show up (Guy Shively, Dan Dan The T-Shirt man, that hot art firm lady, etc.). I've been coming every year since graduation, and it is always an honor to do so, being that I never really officially got a diploma from the CCC, and am recognized as a professional Youngstown artist.  
(I'm actually known as Mr. Harsh-Critic. I've only given an average of two A's per three-year span, and it kind of makes me feel awesome inside. )
Today was the 2012 Review and as was informed to me by the never-really-aging-all-that-much Miss Ruffley, would be the last at CCC. She's moving her class to Chaney High... I was a little heartbroken, one because I thought that the class made a huge come-up since I'd been there, and two, because I'd never set foot in Chaney High before, hahaha. *burp* . It's cool, I'll be there next year, bein' all harsh n' shit.