Hello, my name is Danielle DeMatteo. I was born in Illinois and moved to Napa, California with my parents at the age of eight. I have always been very interested in swimming, so shortly after I moved to Napa, I became a competitive swimmer on the Napa Valley Swim Team for five years. By the time I started attending Vintage High School, I decided to quit the Napa Valley Swim Team and join the Vintage High School swim team and water polo team. Joining the sports teams at Vintage was the best thing I could have done for myself. I was able to develop a strong bond between my team members as well as stay determined to keep a high grade point average, so I could continue participating in sports. In addition, I was able to travel to Hawaii with my water polo team and attend various tournaments.
However, at the age of sixteen, my junior year of high school, I had developed severe low back pain from swimming that kept me out of the water for a few weeks. After seeing a chiropractor, I was back in the water within a week. I was very fascinated with the results I was experiencing. In a nut shell, I became a faster swimmer and my back pain decreased tremendously. At that time, I wanted to go to school to become a chiropractor, so I could help others experience the results that I had experienced. I talked to my chiropractor, after I had been going there a month and asked him if he would be interested in hiring me as an intern. I told him how much chiropractic had improved my lifestyle. Also, I told him that I wanted to get some experience in the chiropractic field. He was very happy to hear about my interest in chiropractic. Therefore, I became his first intern. I worked as a chiropractic assistant through the rest of High School, and I am still working with him to this day. I enjoy working as a chiropractic assistant. However, I have realized I am not as passionate about chiropractic as I am about the technical and design field.
After I graduated from Vintage, I decided to attend Napa Valley College, still unsure of what I wanted to do. I have been working in assistant positions through college, but nothing I want to pursue a degree in. While I was attending my first year at the Napa College, my mom introduced me to her friend, who was a Civil drafter at the time. She told me about her job and what it involved. I knew nothing about Drafting before she introduced me to it, but after hearing that it involved computers and design, I wanted to give it a try. Therefore, I started looking into Architectural and Civil drafting requirements and found out that the Napa Valley College offers an AS degree in Digital Design Graphics Technology, which would allow me to start as an entry level Architectural and Civil drafter.
As a result, here I am today. I am finishing the second year of the program at the Napa Valley College, and I love it. I am able to keep up to date with the newest releases of programs and learn about 3d Modeling as well. All of my projects can be viewed on my Projects page.
