Jonathan Carpenter is a practical science and fine arts student of Kennesaw State University, seeking to pursue an integrated studies degree in Psychology and English. After spending a few years exploring different educational establishments and degrees, including Game Development at the College of Computing and Software Engineering at Kennesaw, he finally settled on pursuing a fine arts education with a focus on creative literature and storytelling.

He made the decision as a result of a growing fondness for fictional novels and narrative video game experiences. Though he initially thought he would pursue a career as a video game developer, he has always been honing his writing skills since his middle school years, writing fanfiction, and taking part in collaborative storytelling projects and activities with peers. His storytelling seeks to explore the human condition, with an emphasis on human development as the characters he creates face down a variety of life challenges within the unique worlds they have to navigate. Because his storytelling and character development seek to explore the human condition, much of his work finds its roots in the humanities, including human psychology and anthropology. He has already completed several courses pertaining to each, with more planned for the future.

“I have always loved to play games, read, and write even when I was little, and I never stopped. I love exploring unique worlds, meeting unique characters, and seeing how they change and develop as the story progresses. Even when I was pursuing a Game Design degree, I always had an emphasis on creating memorable characters. For me, the stories I read and write are not an escape from reality, but another glimpse of it. They offer us a deeper look at our nature as sentient beings. I was diagnosed at an early age with mild ADHD, and have lived my entire life learning about my own psychology, my own human nature. I have a deeply personal stake in exploring the human condition the way I do. You could say that, in a way, I’m still exploring my own nature through the stories I tell, but I’ve chosen to broaden my scope to include all of humanity.”

To check out my elevator pitch, please click here!