Hello! My name is Misael Contreras, and I'm 23 years old with a bachelor's degree in Interior Architecture from San Diego State University. Growing up in a household deeply rooted in art, design, and education, I was destined to fall in love with the creative world. My parents, both educators in the San Diego School District for over 15 years, have been my greatest influences. My father, a talented muralist and independent artist, and my mother, who finds joy in painting during her free time, nurtured my passion for art from a young age.

I spent countless hours helping my father paint murals, and it wasn't long before I started creating my own paintings. The freedom and limitless possibilities in the art realm captivated me—there were no rights or wrongs, only pure self-expression. This passion for art helped me develop core skills such as creative vision, aesthetic sensibility, attention to detail, creating unique experiences, and the ability to tell stories through design.

In high school, I was tasked with researching careers that interested me and could be seen as something I could do forever. I came across interior design and architecture and immediately fell in love. I recognized that architecture used the same skills I had already developed, and I gravitated toward it because it allowed me to be a professional while still exercising my creativity. I had always been fascinated with building designs and though process that went behind it, architecture is truly a form of art itself. An art I wanted to continue to explore.