Meet the Instructors

My name is Jana Jansen and I am the instructor for Graphic Design, Photography and Yearbook at Oak Harbor High School, WA. I was born and raised in Germany, but I moved to Oak Harbor after marrying my husband in 2012. We met when I was an exchange student here at the high school in 2002/03. After taking the graphic design and photography courses here at OHHS, I went back to Germany and studied to become a graphic designer. I graduated from University of Wuppertal, Germany in 2011 with a Master’s Degree in Communications Design. I have worked for several national and international businesses before I started teaching here in 2014. I am very passionate about graphic design and photography.

Some facts about me: I have two young daughters, I enjoy baking and cooking, I love designing cards for people and events, my favorite color is purple, my favorite movie is “The Holiday,” my favorite hot drink is a “London Fog,” my favorite book author is Jojo Moyes, my favorite show is “Gilmore Girls” and my favorite National Park is Yellowstone.

I believe everyone of you has great ideas and can create amazing work – even if you have never done anything like this before! To show what you can do, I expect that you try hard every day. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes! Mistakes are part of life and they help you learn. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback from other students, the teacher or even people outside this class – it can only make your work better and might even inspire you or give you different ideas.

Click here to view my professional portfolio.

My name is Ryan Nowicki and I instruct the Broadcast Media and Filmmaking classes. I was born and raised in Lake Tahoe and traveled the world as a video journalist for 7 years and followed that with a career directing news broadcasts at Fox and NBC. When I moved to Whidbey Island I started my own Photography and Film studio.

I recently got married last summer and now have 7 kids ranging from 3 to 21! We're a busy household with a lot of different sports and programs spanning over 6 different school campuses. I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Like Jana mentioned, I also believe all students have the ability to create amazing work. I look forward to fostering that and teaching the tools to make it happen.