Before and after earning his BFA in Studio Art, Mike Srsen worked as a graphic designer for Arizona Athletics and for a local advertising firm. But he found his real calling — teaching — when he went back to get his master’s in Art & Visual Culture Education at the School of Art.

Nearly 20 years later, Srsen is now a “legend.”

The longtime Flowing Wells High School graphic design teacher has been named the 2024 Pima JTED Central Campus Legendary Teacher. JTED is short for the county’s Joint Technical Education District, which works with business, industry and 14 member public school districts to provide tuition-free Career and Technical Education programs to 22,000 high school students each year.

“When I sat down with professors in the art education department … it  was like something clicked for me, and I knew like, ‘Oh this is what I’ve been supposed to be doing my  whole life,’” Srsen said in a Pima JTED video. “So, my masters thesis was to create a new class for Flowing Wells’ art department and I added a single section of graphic design and it was kind of a hit on campus.”

That success led Srsen to start the Flowing Wells Central Campus JTED program. More than 100 students learn each school year how to be a creative professional by developing workplace and technical skills, including Adobe software such as Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.

Srsen oversees a student-business in which students produce design, print, silkscreen and embroidery work for paying customers. Upper-level students even earn college credit, while in high school, thanks to a dual-enrollment agreement with Pima Community College.

“They work with clients and customers. They see the extra work that goes into it, that’s not just  creativity, but it’s financials and billing and ordering supplies and dealing with people’s moods and personalities,” Srsen said. “Creativity is part of it, but it’s definitely not the whole picture of becoming  an artist in adult life.”

Srsen also takes his JTED students on field trips. Each year, they visit the University of Arizona School of Art for workshops and tour its facilities.

“Renowned for his his creativity, leadership and dedication, he has grown the JTED program into a bustling hub, empowering students through design, entrepreneurship and real-world experience,” Pima JTEd said in an Instagram post.

Srsen, who earned his BFA in 2001 and MA in 2006 from the School of Art, also taught studio art classes at Pima Community College as an adjunct instructor.

“I feel really fortunate to get to have my whole life revolve around art and creativity,” Srsen said, “and to be able to share that with the world and my students in meaningful ways every day.”