It's springtime across the country.

For thousands of graduates like Katie Hottovy, that means it's time to think about their future career.

When Katie was young, she dreamed of being an ice skater or a pediatrician.

"It wasn't until I entered high school, that I had a realistic dream that I wanted to be a graphic designer. It was probably when I was a sophomore or freshman, I stumbled across Photoshop at my aunt's house in Minnesota, and just started playing with it, and just kind of realized this was a cool program, and I wanted to learn more about it," said Katie.

Katie is a senior at Lincoln Southwest High School.

For the past two years, she has been involved in ITFP, the Information Technology Focus Program, a program that has expanded her skills.

"This program has helped me way beyond just learning basic Photoshop. It's got me a job, it has gotten me community service hours for my senior year, it's helped me a lot," said Katie.

Through the help of instructor Steve Carr, Katie works as a graphic artist for the Star City Blog, a job she says she could not have landed without Steve's help.

"He instructs in the beginning, and then lets you do whatever you want for an hour, and that makes you really understand the program, and that's the best way to learn," said Katie.

Learning, and succeeding is exactly what Katie has done.

"Katie came in with quite a few skills to begin with. It was fun to watch her take off and become independent, and sort of not rely on my expertise, but be able to find tutorials and professionals out in the industry that she could rely on to improve her own skills," said Carr.

Katie has won the Nebraska Educational Technology Association's Conference logo contest for the past two years.

Her designs were featured on programs, posters and t-shirts.

Most recently, Katie placed second in a poster contest at the Art Institute in Denver, and third in overall competition.

For Katie, inspiration comes easy.

"I go on google, and I google a word, and put all all these images into a folder, and then I view the folder as a slideshow, before I start a project, and I kind of draw ideas from the picture, whether it's a light bulb here I like, and a camera on this picture here I like, then I incorporate my ideas that way," said Katie.

Through a real-life experience.

"It's going to be the hardware and software they will encounter when they get out into what they refer to as 'the real world,' so we think we give them a head start on whether it's going to be a career for them, or whether they just enjoy being creative with technology. We just want to give them every opportunity to advance," said Carr.

Thanks to a great program, and a great instructor, when Katie crosses that graduation stage, she will be one student who is one step closer to her future career.

"I feel blessed to know what I'm doing to do, and that I don't have to go to work every day, that I'll just do something I love every single day. It won't really be work," said Katie.

Katie plans to attend the Art Institute in Denver next fall, working with, of course, graphic design.

The Information Technology Focus Program has been part of Lincoln Public Schools for eight years.

The program not only offers graphic design classes, but several others pertaining to creativity involving computers and even cameras.

To learn more about ITFP, click the link below.