Navy Graphic Artist Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

Photo By Neil Mabini | Ramon Plasencia, a graphic designer in the Corporate Operations Department of Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division, poses for an official portait in Norco, California, Aug. 9, 2022. Plasencia has been in role since October 2001. (U.S. Navy photo by Neil Mabini)  

NORCO, CA, UNITED STATES

09.12.2022

Story by Linda Welz 

Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division

Ramon Plasencia, 42, has served the Navy as a graphic artist in the Corporate Communications Division at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division for 21 years. Starting as a part-time student aide, Plasencia said he likes having the ability to create products while expressing himself creatively in the process.
His Hispanic heritage is important to him and something he passes on to his son, Plasencia said. Although his mother was born in the U.S., she spent her first 15 years living in Jalisco, Mexico while her father worked there. Because his parents grew up in the same small town, they kept in touch over the years. When his father moved to the U.S. from Mexico at the age of 18 to work as a day laborer, his parents rekindled their friendship and eventually got married, settling in Corona.
As a young man, Plasencia enjoyed salsa dancing, which led to him meeting his wife.
“I was at a local dance hall, ‘A Mi Hacienda Norco,’ in 2008 when she asked me to dance,” he said. “I must have been a good dancer, because she married me and the rest is history.”
Of his work at NSWC Corona, Plasencia said he is most proud of his contributions to the recent command leadership wall design, being the largest visual information static display and product to which he has ever contributed.
“Another project I really loved was a Cinco de Mayo flyer I created about 10 years ago,” he said. “I got full creative license on it, using artistic fonts and bright colors.”
Plasencia said he became interested in art at the age of two, when he realized his crayons could draw a line.
“I drew on the white walls in our hallway, according to my mom,” Plasencia said. “I don’t think she liked that, but it gave us a glimpse at what I would get into later on.”
His passion continued to grow through high school art classes, which led him to continue on and earn two associate’s degrees in graphic design. From there, he joined Team Corona as a student aide.
Today, even with more than two decades of service to the command, he said he still keeps his eye on new professional development goals. His next, he said, is to update and sharpen his graphic design and illustrating skills further with a bachelor’s degree. That, he said, will teach him the ropes for advanced software design, boosting his ability to create more innovative visual information products for an innovative command.
“I would like to step up my skills and mentor others as I have been mentored,” he said. “One of our command goals is cultivating and maintaining an engaged workforce, and a great way to do that is through communicating with the workforce using a variety of efficient and modernized visual information products.”
He not only carries his artistic skills with him, but credits his parents for instilling within him a great work ethic. They taught him to always give his best effort in everything he does and to always finish the job, he said.
“I try to remember not to focus on other artists’ skill levels and instead just work on being better than I was the day before,” said Plasencia. “I get to provide the Navy what it needs while enjoying what I do.”

• Date Taken: 09.12.2022
• Date Posted: 09.12.2022 20:24
• Story ID: 429148
• Location: NORCO, CA, US
• Hometown: CORONA, CA, US