Greg Williams is the Senior Design Instructor and Program Coordinator for the Computer Graphic Design program at the Lakeland campus. Mr. Williams has taught over 80 courses in Graphic Design since he joined Keiser College including Electronic Delivery Systems 1 & 2, 2-D Illustration and Image Editing 1 & 2, 3-D Modeling and Animation 1 & 2, Page Layout, and Introduction to Computers. Some of his former students now design for The Adam Walsh Foundation, Florida's Competitive Edge, The United Way of Central Florida, Cotton & Company, The Stuart News, The Lakeland Ledger, Llamar Outdoor Advertising, and Sun-n-Fun. One former student is also now an instructor with the Port St. Lucie campus of Keiser College and several own their own design firms.
Prior to teaching at Keiser, Mr. Williams was the General Manager of WebThis.net, Inc. in Stuart, Florida. At WebThis he oversaw the sale, planning, and development of over 150 commercial web sites. Under his direction the firm grew from a staff of three to a company of fifteen developers and sales associates. Some of the web sites developed by Mr. Williams and his team included The United Way of Martin County, The Martin County Council for the Arts, The Red Cross of Martin and St. Lucie Counties, The Indian River Initiative/River Dayz, The Martin County Fair, and Staffing Resources, Inc. Mr. Williams was also a frequent guest speaker at The IRCC Business Development Center, The Martin County Chamber of Commerce, and at various professional and civic organizations where he spoke on the impact of the Internet on business.
Mr. Williams learned design as a function of sales. When he
began work in Latin America, he helped explore and develop new
markets for 23 U.S. Housewares companies and managed a sales force
of international sales agents. Mr. Williams succeeded in
establishing major accounts in every country in the hemisphere
(with the exception of Belize and Surinam). In order to support
these new markets, Mr. Williams created foreign language
promotional sales material, developed training material, designed
marketing material and newspaper ads, and created packaging for
many of his accounts. Some of these accounts included Walmart of
Mexico, Mesbla in Brazil, Hogar in Peru, and Rattan in Venezuela.
Mr. Williams also developed the original web sites for US Acrylic,
CGS International, Custom Deco, Inc., Leeber Limited, and several
other U.S. manufacturers to assist these manufacturers in expanding
their sales efforts in both the U.S. and in the international
markets.
Learning is a life-long and personal journey. If someone desires to learn a subject strongly enough, there is nothing that can prevent him or her from succeeding. An instructor's role is in assisting the learner in the process of acquiring the knowledge and the skills to realize his or her life's ambitions. An instructor cannot learn for a student, but through carefully planned exercises and lessons, the instructor can hasten the acquisition of both skills and understanding, guide the learner to deeper exploration and discovery, aid in helping the learner stay focused upon the objectives, and offer feedback to help refine the learner's self-assessment of his or her own progress.
Personally, I am driven by a relentless curiosity and an almost obsessive focus when I choose to learn a new subject. I learn best by reading books, watching films, researching on the Internet, and then playing with the new knowledge until I can mold it into something that I can use. I never consider the process of learning as work or a chore, but a game or challenge that I attack with the enthusiasm of a child and an attitude of playfulness. Because of this approach, I find that I do not get easily frustrated or discouraged by failures and misunderstandings. Every attempt that is less than I had hoped simply helps me understand what I still need to learn.
As an instructor, I am less concerned with grades than I am about the growth and understanding that the student gains while under my supervision. Ideally each student will push me to share with them, challenge me to further my own understanding, and in the final weeks of the course, share with me the joys of learning together as we explore areas beyond my own expertise and education.
My Great Aunt Georgie was an elementary school teacher for 40 years. She is loved and adored by the entire community in which she lives and can remember every student she ever had by both face and name. Georgie taught me that an active mind never grows old and she continues to be an avid reader and learner well into retirement. When she was 92, Georgie took a course on how to use computers so she could “see what all the fuss is about,” and at 97 she still surfs the Internet in her never-ending quest for knowledge and personal growth.