Sam Dangles preps and bakes thousands of desserts for UMass Lowell students at University Dining Commons in Fox Hall. (Photo by Marlon Pitter/Connector)

“I’m gonna try to go the whole year without having a cookie,” said Sam Dangles.“I’m not really a sweets kind of guy.”

Dangles, a Lowell native, wears his pink shirt and white hat at the Sugar & Spice station at Fox Hall’s University Dining Commons as he prepares thousands of sugary concoctions each day, from the usual sugar and chocolate chip cookies to fall-themed apple crisp. When he’s not serving freshly-baked cookies and cupcakes from a hot oven for thousands of hungry students, Dangles pursues his passion for graphic design, especially T-shirt design.

As a T-shirt designer, Dangles works for a local design company called Mill City Designs, which creates custom T-shirts, banners and other promotional items for businesses in the Greater Lowell area. As part of the company, Dangles has worked with bars, restaurants, gyms and groups of individuals to help create the image that brings their theme to life.

“I honestly love designing for people and seeing them get the shirt or something they had in mind,” he said.

Dangles earned a degree in communications-based graphic design, marketing and intercultural communications at Fitchburg State University in 2013, but he said his interest in graphic design sparked long before going to college. As a child, Dangles said he was always intrigued by drawing, designing and computer programs like Photoshop.

His enthusiasm for graphic design continued through his time at Lowell High School, he said, where he learned how to use Adobe Illustrator and “got really in tune” with the skills-aspect of graphic design, but he also gained media experience as part of the school’s Communication Academy. As a Lowell High School student, Dangles worked as part of a group of students who broadcasted news programs at Lowell High School during homeroom periods, with responsibilities behind the scenes and in front of the camera.

“A couple times, I was actually the anchor, which was pretty cool,” Dangles said.

Currently, Dangles said he draws influence from the likes of Johnny Earle, founder of Johnny Cupcakes, Life is good co-founder Bert Jacobs, D*Face, Shepard Fairey and more, not only for their designs but for their desire to push their own work to a bigger audience.

Earle, a self-made entrepreneur from Hull, Massachusetts, has spoken to UMass Lowell’s freshmen each of the last two years about how he attained success by selling T-shirts out of his car. Similarly, Jacobs and his brother, John, sold Life is good T-shirts on their own until their demand ultimately outweighed their supply.

Their self-sufficiency and determination, Dangles said, are what make him a fan of businessmen like them.

“I think when you find something you like, just keep pushing yourself no matter what other people say,” said Dangles. “Sometimes, people can’t grasp your idea, but if you have a good following and believe in yourself then you should keep pushing yourself to make more.”

With the same drive as the designers he follows, Dangles designed and distributed his own creations in the Greater Fitchburg area after attending Fitchburg State University.

After designing T-shirts for recreational sports teams, school marketing projects and school clubs and events at Fitchburg State, Dangles created his own T-shirt designs, most of which were designed to promote Spree Day, the annual year-end celebration, during which “everyone kinda parties and goes crazy,” a tradition he said the school used to regulate and encourage. As a motivated entrepreneur, Dangles went out to local businesses to collaborate on T-shirt projects in order to help promote the city to the Fitchburg student body.

Although Dangles now works more than 40 hours a week between baking desserts and designing shirts, he said he still likes to have fun and connect with people. As someone who went to college only 40 minutes away from his hometown,  Dangles said he enjoys engaging with the different students at UMass Lowell, who have come from all parts of the United States to attend school in the city he grew up in, which is how he makes working at the dining hall more enjoyable.

Unlike with his graphic design interests, Dangles said he does not have any culinary role models. He said popular TV chefs, like Guy Fieri and Rachel Ray, are much more popular than they should be. Instead, he prefers to learn firsthand, as he did when he started working at the dining hall.

“I know how to wrap a sandwich right, and that was cool after doing it 300,000 times,” Dangles said. “I’ll learn from people rather than glorified celebrities.”

Dangles said he hasn’t planned ahead for the distant future, but he would like to visit different cities, including Los Angeles and Miami. As for other life goals, such as advancing in graphic design or his next job, he also remains undecided.

“In five years, I’ll probably be in Lowell, most likely. I haven’t decided yet,” he said. “I haven’t decided what I’m doing tomorrow.”

Dangles said he is happy that his parents have always been encouraging of his endeavors as a designer, even if his future remains uncertain.

“They weren’t worried about my career-seeking options,” he said, “because I’ve been motivated, I’m always looking for work, [and] I’m always looking to have a good time.”