It all began with &uot;Star Wars,&uot; recalls David Hobbs.

For Hobbs, who was in the seventh grade at the time, &uot;Star Wars&uot; was not just another film which allowed him to play with action figures and prance around the backyard with toy guns.

Even though he didn’t realize it then, &uot;Star Wars&uot; would launch his career, a career involving , not guns or space ships, but pencil and paper.

Now that career has brought Hobbs, a drafting and industrial design instructor at Wallace Community College, national recognition for his inclusion in &uot;Who’s Who Among Teachers.&uot; The award includes some of the top teachers in the nation. Hobbs was nominated by a former student, Joanne Cruz, a national merit scholar.

The award is presented to very few teachers in Hobbs’ field, which, he said, &uot;truly means something to me.&uot;

Hobbs also had high praise for his former student.

Hobbs was born in Germany and raised in Enterprise, Ala.

As a seventh-grader, he obtained sketches of action figures from the film

and began copying them, his first introduction to the art of drawing and design.

Besides drawing for fun, Hobbs also began taking drafting courses in high school, something that he said he really enjoyed.

Hobbs’ first job was at the Sherwin Williams store in Enterprise. He was eventually promoted to assistant manager of the store at the age of 21.

Hobbs then took a job in Dadeville, where he made fiberglass camper tops, a job that put his industrial skills to work.

After working for a few years, Hobbs decided it was time to go back to school. He attended Auburn, where he earned a degree in industrial design.

For Hobbs, the degree was a natural extension of something he had done all his life.

After completing his degree, Hobbs worked at several jobs, applying his talents in the field of graphics design.

He then decided it was time to do something a little different and applied for a teaching job at Wallace. &uot;I wasn’t really expecting to get the job initially,&uot; he said. &uot;I guess what happened at that time was that they did not have enough people to fill all the positions.&uot;

Hobbs was given the job as the drafting and design instructor, a job, which has taken him to even further heights than he ever imagined.