I learned of his passing through the speed of Twitter. Although I knew it was coming, I was still in shock. The man who revived and strengthened a once-dying company, led a fledgling animation studio and changed the game in the creative, marketing and tech industries, was gone.

Even though I didn’t know him personally, he had indirectly touched my life in many ways. My first job out of college was working at his company, via an Apple Store. Through my training at Cupertino HQ and my employment, I understood up close how the company ticked… and I created many friends along the way.

Jobs’s products enrich my life. I own a MacBook Pro, which I use for work and play. After my iPhone was stolen, I realized how it had vastly changed the way I used a mobile phone. (Fortunately, I got it back.) He changed the way I listened to and consumed music – and as a music fanatic, this is a big deal. And he led Pixar, the film studio who’d produce modern classics like Toy Story, Finding Nemo and my personal favorite, Up.

As a senior at HPU, I chose Apple for my advertising case study. Through a multimedia presentation and a paper, I broke down the brilliance of the company’s marketing and creative.

Most important, he was responsible for the operating system and applications where I’d learned how to edit videos, create publications and ultimately tell stories digitally. To say that I wouldn’t be where I am today because of him would be giving him too much credit, but he played a significant role in providing the tools to get me here.

Last night, as I made my way to meet up with old Apple friends at Ala Moana, I thought of Justin, my late friend and job training companion in Cupertino. With my iPhone, I left him a Facebook message:

“Give Uncle Steve a hug for me, will ya?”

This was my last week of classes, so final projects and such were due. Glad to get those out of the way. Next week is finals week, but fortunately I don’t have any finals to take. I do have to go to class on Monday for my advertising class, though. I also have to turn in my final project for photography: five prints of our best photos. I uploaded them here, actually. Let me know what you think. I have six uploaded because I can’t decide which one I should eliminate. I’ll probably just print all six and turn those in. These prints make up half of my grade—can you believe it? I think they’re among my best and I hope my professor agrees.

I have to wake up at 5:30 a.m. tomorrow to head over to Kahala Mall for my Apple training… so it’s off to bed for me. Here’s a video that may cheer you up:

http://flickr.com/photos/libperalta/sets/72157604723013727/

Also, turns out I’m heading back to the Bay Area! Apparently, Apple sends one Genius and one Creative from each store for training at their headquarters (a.k.a. the mothership) in Cupertino. Just when I was bummed out that last week’s trip went by too quickly! My manager told me earlier this week that they’re planning on sending me there in June. Yay! =)