Meet Jordan Duhon | Blogger, Graphic Designer, Community Leader, Gamer, & IT Professional

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jordan Duhon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jordan, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
In short, I pursued a creative career because I ultimately feel what’s for you, is for you.

My parents raised me to believe that “if you do what you love for a living, you will never work a day in your life.” Although it may not be true in a literal sense for most people; its philosophy resonates all the same. Waking up daily to a supportive and engaging community such as The Habitually Elevated has provided me with so much satisfaction and fulfillment!

When pursuing higher education, the first university I attended was the University of North Texas. I had a great deal of ambition to obtain a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts with a concentration in Drawing & Painting. It only made sense considering the fact that I had been creating art since I could practically write my name. While trying to work full-time and go to school full-time, I realized just how much money I would need to spend to keep up with consistent demands like purchasing canvas, specific paint brands, and sketchpads, let alone the textbooks needed for these classes. The realization I believe came about when a $300 textbook that I purchased for a class we never used, served a better purpose for supporting my then college apartment window from closing.

After leaving UNT, my artistic expression took a bit of a back burner in trying to make ends meet. I switched majors two more times and still found no peace and pleasure in academia. The one constant that remained true was my passion and attraction for crafting. In Nursing school, I sketched the anatomical makeup of piglets we were dissecting. When I switched over to Early Childhood Education, I created vivid imagery and projects to help young minds in grasping much-needed milestones.

Here I am, almost 6 years out of college with no degree building a community for gaming, tech, and creative arts. I never gave up, which I feel is the most important mindset to keep. Constantly reminding myself through all of the hardships to “just keep going”. Today, I am a career IT Professional and an Ambassador Community Manager for the*gameHERs. My mission is to continue to inspire and creatively lead those wanting to build their passions to meet innovative goals.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
On a day-to-day basis, I’m an IT Specialist for a major MSP within the United States. My primary objectives consist of QA Testing, internal and external troubleshooting, and technical writing.
When the pandemic first began in Texas in March of 2020, I had most recently resigned from one position with the Department of Homeland Security to begin another elsewhere. Like most people, I had no idea how long the pandemic with COVID-19 was to last before I began working again. Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, and there I was with no job and no unemployment relief.

I began to formulate a creative plan and path for myself. I felt that I could not sit and wait for something to come to me, I had to act. Maybe it was also a bit of cabin fever getting to me too. In turn, I came up with the idea for The Habitually Elevated to initially offer free services for advertisement and brand promotion for creatives, gamers, and businesses. Simultaneously, I found myself falling in love with the tangible fixes of the programming world. What I found loving most about coding is that in a world where I felt that everything around me was falling apart and practically breaking, code was something that I could fix. There was no in-between with programming. It either does or doesn’t work. I would literally study code starting with Responsive Web Design from sun up to sundown. I pressured myself to turn into a diamond.

Trying to start a community in the midst of global-wide panic and uncertainty was not an easy feat, Most people were confused as to why I’d want to do anything for free with little return value. I found my community project to be more of a practicing tool rather than a financial hustle. While things are now starting to return to some semblance of normalcy, I’ve felt less pressure to compete with time. My tenacity and work ethic provided me with my first career opportunity to officially enter the tech industry. I appreciate the fact that I continue to learn every day to further enhance my skills. I’ve always believed that the biggest competition is myself. I always keep in mind to “run my own race”.

More recently, my endeavors for my personal community that I created and my professional career has led me to an opportunity with a gaming start-up company known as, “the*gameHERs”. I initially started with this organization as a volunteer QA tester for their beta app in October of 2021. By January 2022, I officially became an active App Ambassador for this female-led community. As of May 2022, I became the first Ambassador Community Manager leading a team of 100 brand and app ambassadors. I feel that this newly acquired role is a direct result of my endless hard work and drive to challenge myself. I’m very honored to have accepted this responsibility to help continue to build such a profound corporation.

Lessons that I have learned along the way were to always consider the weight of your responsibilities by never taking on more than you can bear. I felt that I put more time, effort, and money into a project than I received in return. It wasn’t a complete issue for me, but it provided less satisfaction and a few setbacks than what I initially imagined. However, in those very same lessons as cliché as it may sound I knew to not give up. I could not deny the feeling that I was on the brink of something magnificent. Something that would provide me with the stratification that I had been craving creatively since my college years. I feel that whatever you do, do it to the fullest with no regrets.

Life has molded me into a person to not wait on life to respond to my desires, that I must go out and make things happen for me. My mind is always working on where I could and should be next. I’ve truly always had a relatively hard time living in the moment. I feel that life is too short and that I have too much to go out and conquer. Sure, Rome was not built in a day but it definitely wasn’t a stand-still project either. Vini. Vedi. Vici.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
For a week-long trip, I would plan a plethora of activities for my favorite company —

We’d have to dine out at several places like Doc B’s in Clearfork, Pecan Lodge for some good ole fashion Dallas BBQ, Don Juan’s in Grand Prairie for bean and beef burritos with a side of sopapillas, Bayou Cat in Arlington for a shrimp po-boy and the classic Pineapple Big Shot, and of course I couldn’t let them forget about a fuego-style burger for none other than Fuego Burger in Fort Worth.

For some adult drinking, I’d take my friends to two swanky places that I prefer on two different sides of the metroplex —
1) Paschall’s Bar in Denton for a nice Bloody Mary or Moscow Mule, or
2) The Scat Lounge in Downtown Fort Worth for some serenading jazz music.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d like to initially give praise to my late-grandfather, Ronald White. For being the original black sheep and go-getter driven by the love of one’s passion.
Thank you for being my source of inspiration to always aim high and be unapologetically and authentically me.

I’d like to thank my late-best friend, Rajeen “Ray” Williams.
“No Ragrets” sums it up. From the great beyond, I still feel your support and encouragement.

I’d like to thank my members and supporters of The Habitually Elevated for helping to guide not only myself but the community to more opportunities such as this interview. Without having such endearing people that genuinely want to see me excel; I wouldn’t have made some of the successes I have thus far. Our community engagement continues to grow on a monthly basis and I can’t help but thank each one of them for allowing me to lead them. Stay Elevated!

Lastly, I’d like to thank these 3 people…
My mother for teaching me to be a courageous woman in everything that I do.
I’d like to thank my brother for pushing and pulling me in the direction needed to be the best version of me, for me.
I’d most certainly like to thank my boyfriend, Brandon, for the long hours and days of verbal confirmation, brainstorming, and critical support to do everything I dream of pursuing.

Website: https://www.thehabituallyelevated.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.habituallyelevated

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-duhon-a40762152/

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/thesd5x

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTqfElA1XiOhYeGDcLZ21Gg

Other: Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/thesd5x