It started with crayon flowers.
When Kevin Sepe ’99 was in middle school, an art teacher looked at a still life drawing of flowers he had made with crayons and decided to submit it to a Rhode Island scholastic art show. The still life won an award. Following that, the teacher recommended to Kevin and his parents that he attend a Saturday art class at Rhode Island College.
“I think that’s the moment it clicked,” says UHart’s senior graphic designer in the Office of Marketing and Communication. “I realized, ‘Hey, I might be good at this!’” It helped that his parents were supportive of the idea that he had a gift for art.
“I never thought I would be interested in studying design,” continues the 26-year veteran of the University. In fact, despite the confidence of his art teacher, Sepe recalls designing a T-shirt in high school—and “I hated it!” But something changed when he entered UHart. While enrolled in a 2D design first-year Foundation course with Hartford Art School professor Mark Snyder, “there was another moment where something clicked,” Sepe recalls. “That’s when I was inspired to pursue graphic design as a career.”
Sepe has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Hartford Art School (HAS), where his academic concentration was in graphic design. He was hired by HAS the summer after his graduation as a part-time graphic design technician, where his responsibilities included technological support for HAS, as well as for the School’s visual communication design and illustration departments. It became a full-time position a year later, and he stayed with it for 18 years. “Faculty members who were my mentors became my colleagues and friends,” Sepe recalls, “and that made for quite an amazing evolution for me.”
He transferred to the Office of Marketing and Communication as senior graphic designer in 2018.
Sepe also started teaching as an adjunct professor early in his UHart career, representing another intriguing evolution since he was only a year or two older than most of his students. “I still teach at HAS,” he reports, “but a quarter of a century later, the age factor is no longer an issue at all.”
Sepe and his wife, Lisa Sepe ‘96—whom he met through HAS—reside in Willington, Conn., with their two sons, one in high school and the other in college, both of whom are at the beginning of their own career journeys.
As for his philosophy for on-the-job success, Sepe combines a commitment to always work hard with an ability to go the distance for all clients, and he wraps it all up with a positive and friendly attitude in everything he does. That, along with sheer talent, is what led to a series of honors, including a UHart Outstanding Staff Member Award, Excellence and Judges’ Awards from the Connecticut Art Directors Club for the HAS viewbook, and an Award of Excellence from the University & College Designers Association for his work as part of the team that designs UHart’s alumni magazine, H.
Sepe says that at the Connecticut Art Directors Club ceremony, he was humbled to see so many former students, who are now colleagues, using their talents in the field. “I hope I encourage and support my students as much as my teachers and professors once inspired me."
Watch for more profiles throughout the fall about dedicated members of our campus community who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make UHart a special place.