As an individual who has always loved technology, Derrik has been dabbling in computers for almost 17 years. From early beginnings in optimizing boot sequences of his parents home computer, to creating a strong foundation in the advanced uses of various operating system platforms, and on to building many machines from scratch, one of the biggest constants in his life has been the computer and technology. After following a not-so-linear path of study three years of architectural design at Washington State University (following three years of the same in high school), then moving on to graduate with two degrees, Spanish and Political Science: International Relations he would later realize that his resume was to reflect the same breadth of experiences.
Derrik first found himself developing his post-university resume with a successful outside sales roll with Statewide Energy Systems. From there he moved on to Door-to-Door Moving & Storage to try his hand with inside sales, and found himself setting numerous sales records in only the first few months. Not too long after settling in at Door-to-Door he received a phone call from a former employer and owner of TSA Architects. It was this job offer that landed Derrik back in the world of architecture where he stayed for the next 4 ½ years.
During his time with TSA Architects, he quickly gained respect for his design and problem solving abilities, both in the moment and for purposes of long-term project planning. Within three and a half years he had progressed from an Architectural Intern, to Lead Production and AutoCAD and Systems Manager, to Project Architect, to the title of Associate. In mid-June of 2009, Derrik decided to take the lead in the online marketing effort, learn how to edit and develop web pages, and to implement a Search Engine Optimization campaign for the company. Over the course of the next 5 months, he successfully took the company webpage from the 76th page of a Google search, to the top of the 2nd page (the 12th result for the exact same search term).
Finally, in December that year, after many discussions and quite a bit of analysis, Derrik left TSA Architects and his role as a future partner to become the Head Creature of Systems & Development for Social Creature Media. Here, he once again finds himself engrossed in his early love of technology, where he uses his comprehensive experiences and methodical problem solving for developing systems and perfecting processes.
When out of the office and unplugged for a while, Derrik enjoys playing sports, travelling, spending time with his wife, family, and friends and cruising around on his motorcycle.
