Alumni Profile: Alumnus’s creative vision wins healthcare marketing awards

In 2003, Mitch Thompson completed his Associate in Science (A.S.) degree in Digital Media.  Now, he works as the creative director for Proclaim Interactive, a website design and digital marketing agency in Wilmington, North Carolina. Along with his team, Thompson has won over seven regional and national awards for marketing and web design. This includes three 2019 Aster Awards, national awards recognizing excellence in healthcare marketing. Dawn Wilson, a writer for the Proclaim Interactive team, shared about Thompson and his time at Seminole State College of Florida, “We’ve always felt that he needed some great recognition for all he has done, and he is a real testimony to your programs there.” 

Spence Hackney, the president at Proclaim Interactive, praised Thompson as “one of those rare people who can use both sides of his brain with equal dexterity.” Hackney says, “He's a consummate creative who can also work through the logic of programming code. We're incredibly fortunate to have his leadership as the creative director here at Proclaim Interactive. His award-winning work and ability to solve thorny technical issues are some of the reasons we've grown so much over the past few years.” 

We caught up with Thompson to reflect on his time at Seminole State and what it’s like to work in the web development and marketing profession.

How did your time at Seminole State College help prepare you for your professional role? 

I started putting together websites in 1996, so by the time I graduated from high school in 2000, I knew if I was going to go to college, it was going to be related to web development and graphic design. Being in a trade-based academic setting, I found it to be very inspiring both collaborating with other students and seeing their process develop, and working with teachers. Around the same time that I started Seminole State College, I also started working with some friends who created a startup web hosting business that also did web design in downtown Orlando. So, to be able to go to school while working allowed me to apply my newfound knowledge.

Who was your greatest influence at Seminole State College? 

Both Jack Griggs and Bill Bain were huge influences for me. Jack has a real passion for the work he does in photo and graphic design and retouching. This got me out of some bad software habits and inspired a passion I have for photo retouching. Bill Bain’s classes pushed me in the direction of web animation but also to develop a bit of a style in the kind of work I was doing professionally.

What are you most proud of?

I’ve been involved in the design and development of around 400 websites over 23 years. In the web and marketing world you get exposed to a lot of different types of organizations and being able to contribute ideas to better run their organizations while also being educated by the experience of work.

What’s your favorite part of your job? 

The team of people I work with.

Tell us more about the awards that you have won. 

I’ve been working for Proclaim Interactive for six years, and we’ve been focused largely on design and web work for various size medical practices and hospitals. We have won many awards from Aster Awards to Healthcare Advertising Awards, among others.

When you’re not working, what might someone find you doing? 

Hanging out with my 3-year-old son. Playing and watching soccer. Even though I’m not in Florida anymore, I’m still a big Orlando City fan. 

What advice would you give to someone looking to be in your field? 

Trade schools and community colleges are a perfect match for people looking to get into design or into programming. You can literally take the knowledge you get and turn around a few months later and start working on your own projects; put your work out there, help people out, just keep making stuff. And remember it’s not about the degree you have but what you do with the knowledge and relationships you build during and after your academic experience.

If you are interested in learning about graphic or web design, check out our Associate in Science (A.S.) degree in Digital Media!