After graduating from Clovis West High School in 1991, the 18-year-old enrolled into the Art & Design program at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. Nearing the completion of his degree, one his professors confided in Chueh that he was "a mediocre graphic designer," but explained that he was "a great illustrator" and "should pursue a career in that", despite the fact that Chueh had a graphic design concentration and his "formal" art training was restricted to a "couple quarters of Life Drawing and Illustrations classes".