Underground Sensation
Columbus State led to popular site

Walker Evans is an up-and-comer and a person to watch, according to (Columbus) Alive. He’s also a 2004 Columbus State grad.

Evans founded ColumbusUnderground.com on a whim and built it into a must-read, with 3 million hits per month. Columbus Underground provides a discussion forum for local happenings; news updates; and tips on events, food, nightlife, shopping and more.

Evans, who grew up in Marysville, began his college studies in computer programming at Ohio State. He left after two quarters to find a new direction for his talents.

By day he worked as a techie for Limited Brands and by night he often DJed at local clubs. Wanting to continue his education, Evans searched online and found Columbus State’s Interactive Media program. The small classes, convenient times, and affordable tuition fit Evans’ requirements perfectly. 

“This program offered the right mix of the technical and the artistic for me,” says Evans. “And the varied curriculum seemed applicable to so many career fields.”

Interactive Media includes web design and video/audio production. It works closely with Columbus State’s Computer Information Technology, Digital Design & Graphics and Digital Photography majors.

He took mostly night courses, and gave high marks to his teachers.

“The adjunct faculty members who taught my evening classes brought real-world, workplace experiences into the classroom,” Evans says. “Those examples were such a plus, and they gave students a preview of how what we were learning could be used on the job.”

Evans left Limited Brands for an internship he acquired through Columbus State, and, as his interests changed (marriage, parenthood, homeownership), so did ColumbusUnderground.com. The site kept expanding and soon he was selling advertising on it.

Evans then consulted the Small Business Development Center at Columbus State before incorporating “columbusunderground.com.” Now, the site is his full-time job.

 “In so many ways, Columbus State has helped launch my career and my involvement in the central Ohio community,” says Evans.