Applications and Research Laboratory, Ellicott City | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

About twenty two years ago, I was in my third year of the tech magnet program at Long Reach High School. It was the beginning of my junior year when I first attended the Applications & Research Laboratory (ARL).

Our teachers were Mr. George Hopkins & Mr. Ray Lee who taught graphic design/ animation and photography, and Mr. Travis who taught videography. That team of instructors headed what became the Visual Communications Program. It was a new program and the first class of its kind.

There were a few dozen of us that rode over for half days at the ARL via bus after lunch. Our school and River Hill, another local school enrolled in the tech magnet program, shared labs and learned everything we could about design software such as Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator, Director and a few others. We learned classic photography in a red room photo lab just like the old pros before digital, remember, this was ‘98-‘00. The freshest talent, the effective staff, and the latest technology were all there under one roof. And that was just my dept.. There were also Vo-tech and digital IT classes available as well. Those were located around the corner, which could be located on the touch screen kiosk located in the front lobby. I know because it was a fellow classmate and myself that were taught and eventually designed the very program that digital directory ran in order to find each department. There were even after hour events where we played computer games like Quake on network servers, often against Mr. Hopkins himself.

Those two years at the ARL were probably the most formative years of my entire formal education.

Between the harsh, but true direction of the “no-nonsense” Mr. Lee ( he was also my art teacher my sophomore year ) and the dry wit of Mr. Hopkins, both whose talent and instructing abilities were second to none, I learned enough to become advanced and get a head start in the design world.

It truly did help prepare me for what was ahead.

My peers and classmates. The instructors. The program. The classes.

It all started there. If I ever see Mr. Lee or Mr. Hopkins again, I want to let them know that they helped blaze the path for my artistic career as a graphic designer and thank them. I imagine a teacher that cared for their students as they did would like to hear that another one of theirs made it.

I have been a graphic designer for 12 year now. I own my own freelance art business, and I co-own two others, both in the arts and entertainment industry. I also instruct paint nights at a local distillery and I do parties remotely, often at rented halls or people’s homes.

Those years at the ARL gave me the knowledge and confidence I needed to succeed in a competitive field later in life and I am grateful for it.

Thanks for reading. Live heARTy.

Best place for creating bright and passionate students. This place helped me and friends get out of boring generic classes and were able to classes that would actually mean something in our future. For me that was the architecture program. Now I have completed my second year of by bachelor’s degree and have already had an internship with a firm. The ARL is filled with intelligent teachers who want to teach and students who want to learn vs at our assigned home schools that is not necessarily the case. I know of other really bright classmates who were very successful at the ARL and habe been very successful in life because of it. This place is not garbage: hasn’t been for 60 years and isn’t now, and never will be.

I attended a two year course here back in highschool, 2011-2013, and it was really what made my junior and senior years so enjoyable. To put it simply, this facility offers college level courses for students that want to branch out towards a specific career path. The faculty here only wish to see their students succeed and improve, and I personally have Mrs. LeBaron and Mr. Cherveck (iirc) for making my two years learning 3D animation, modeling, and the Adobe creative suite a wonderful time.