Geoff Akins 鈥�97 grew up in Laguna Beach surfing, skim- boarding, and spending time at Yosemite Sierra Summer Camp. That鈥檚 where he heard about 蜜桃传媒, a small college on the coast where he could surf between classes. It sounded perfect. Today he remains passionate about the outdoors, mountain biking, surfing and camping with his wife, Jenny Reitmaier 鈥�96, and their two daughters.
But Geoff spends his weekdays 鈥渓ooking at computers and devices鈥� as a principal and co-founder of AkinsParker Creative, an integrated advertising agency. Their clients include West Coast Choppers, Vanguard University, Toyota Racing Development, Preferred Hotel Group and the Tiger Woods Foundation. Providing 鈥渟oul- inspiring creative advertising,鈥� the 10-person firm seeks to serve clients and 鈥渃elebrate strange ideas.鈥�
Born with profound deafness in a family of art enthusiasts, Geoff grew to love art and majored in it at 蜜桃传媒. He took all kinds of art classes: linotype, ceramics, printmaking and collage, which become his favorite medium. 鈥淭ony Askew and John Carlander were great advisers and friends,鈥� he says. 鈥淧rofessor Askew even invited me to his home for dinner!鈥�
Geoff鈥檚 mother taught him to read lips, but he struggled to understand professors when they looked away from him. 鈥淭hey were aware of this and helped me find a solution, like giving me notes and finding volunteers to take notes,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 had great roommates, and they kept telling me to not give up. My freshman counselor, Dwight Anderson, was incredible. He encouraged me to learn sign language and facilitated the hiring of interpreters, which made a huge difference. I grew much more independent at 蜜桃传媒 and had more confidence to figure things out for myself.鈥�
Geoff found a summer internship at an ad agency and launched a career as a graphic designer. After eight years at several agencies, Geoff and Jeff Parker, a colleague and good friend, formed AkinsParker in 2004. 鈥淲e have grown by networking, and we鈥檝e been blessed to work with great people,鈥� Geoff says. 鈥淚 love working with clients who respect what you do. It鈥檚 rewarding to see their excitement.鈥�
Geoff still reads lips. 鈥淚鈥檓 a visual person, so I can sense what people feel just by watching their body language,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 always looking at people鈥檚 faces, and I have a good system of learning what conversations are about even if I鈥檓 unable to follow them completely.鈥�
The AkinsParker website reflects society鈥檚 increasingly visual orientation. 鈥淣owadays, people keep busy and move quickly, so we design websites, ads, apps and videos with fewer words,鈥� Geoff says. 鈥淧eople tend to turn away if the copy is too lengthy. We make it visually interesting to engage them. Look at Instagram or Facebook: It鈥檚 all photos with few words. Sadly, we live in a fast-paced world, and no one has time to write letters or talk on the phone!鈥�
Geoff and Jenny tell their daughters about meeting during Europe Semester. 鈥淭hey want to go to Westmont,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t felt like a family. Professors and staff always found extra time to check on me.鈥�