I was born in Tuscon, AZ then moved to Las Vegas, NV when I was 2 years old. I went to a private college preparatory school from 1st-12 grade called The Meadows School.

I moved to Ashland, OR in 2014 to attend Southern Oregon University and graduated (in 2018) with a Bachelor’s in Communication: Digital Cinema. I thought I was going to be a movie director, but realized I didn’t have the patience or desire to work on a film project for 1+ years.

I worked as a Morning News Producer at KOBI-TV NBC 5. The graveyard shift was really rough on me physically. I could only last the 12am-8:30am shift for about 10 months before I resigned. I didn’t like news production because I don’t think you can teach someone anything noteworthy in 25-30 seconds. The news industry is all about entertainment, not actual news. If it isn’t flashy and catchy, like an armed robbery, than you shouldn’t air it. I don’t agree with that at all. I think educating people about what our legislators are up to is one of the most important jobs there is, but the news stations don’t think that way.

After enjoying some time off and getting my body back to normal daytime hours, my boyfriend and I moved to Hillsboro in 2019.

That’s when I switched to podcast production, but couldn’t find a job in that area because the podcast host is usually also the producer so there’s no need for another person.

I stumbled upon instructional design by searching for jobs that are in the education field. I knew I didn’t want to be a teacher because they get treated and paid horribly. Instructional design combines my love for creativity, digital cinema, and education. I went to a trade school called the IDOL Academy in January 2021 and by April 2021 I started Kristensen Designs. Below is a picture of me with my IDOL Academy mug. Every student gets a mug when they reach their goal. My goal was to get 2 clients by August. I actually overachieved my goal with 3 clients by August.