This week in Atlanta, SCAD TVfest glows up in person. Now in its 11th year, the university's annual signature event celebrates all things television and streaming Feb. 9-11.

"This year, Buffy, Darryl, and Jamie Dutton star in the greatest show about television: SCAD TVfest!" said SCAD President Paula Wallace. "That's right, America's teenage scream-queen of the '90s (THE Sarah Michelle Gellar!), everyone's favorite warehouse manager (THE Craig Robinson!), and star of TV's steamiest series (THE Wes Bentley of Yellowstone!) will appear live and in person to share their TV secrets with SCAD students. We've planned truly the most epic TVfest in SCAD history for our Bees: pitches, panels, and premieres galore, where SCAD students' TV dreams become professional realities."

"It's a thrill to be back on the ground in Atlanta for this year's SCAD TVfest. There is nothing better than seeing our students interacting with some of the top people in television including talent, showrunners, executives, and more," said SCAD TVfest Executive Director Christina Routhier. "From our honorees to the premieres of brand new TV shows, we are so excited for this year's programming lineup. A highlight for us is the ability to showcase the shows shot here in Georgia as Atlanta has truly become the hub for television and film production in the United States."

Wes Bentley will receive the Virtuoso Award and Craig Robinson will receive the Spotlight Award. SCAD previously announced that Sarah Michelle Gellar will receive the Icon Award and Sterlin Harjo will receive the Variety Showrunner Award. Honorees are scheduled to attend screenings and participate in conversations highlighting their performances and illustrious careers.

SCAD TVfest will showcase exciting programs from 20th Television, ABC, ABC Signature, AMC, CBS, The CW, Disney+, Disney Branded Television, Freeform, FOX, FX, HBO Max, Hulu, Nat Geo, Paramount+, Paramount Network, Peacock, Prime Video, Sony Pictures TV, Universal Studio Group, Warner Horizon Unscripted TV, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Bros. Television and more.

Wes Bentley (Virtuoso Award) currently stars as Jamie Dutton in the Paramount Network series Yellowstone, from writer/director Taylor Sheridan. In 1999, Bentley gained immediate critical acclaim and recognition for his role in the Oscar-winning film, American Beauty. Over the past twenty years, Bentley's work in film has ranged from commercial and critically acclaimed fare, like The Hunger Games, Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, Disney's live action remake of Pete's Dragon, Mission Impossible: Fallout, as well as working with Terrence Malick in Knight Of Cups. In 2014, Bentley made his television debut starring in multiple seasons of Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story.

Craig Robinson (Spotlight Award) first made his mark as a stand-up comedian at the 1998 Montreal Just For Laughs Festival. Before pursuing comedy full-time, Robinson was a K-8 teacher in the Chicago Public School System. e is best known for his portrayal of Darryl Philbin in The Office, and has starred in films, including Knocked Up, This is the End, Hot Tub Time Machine, Dolemite is my Name!, Timmy Failure, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon, Songbird, and The Bad Guys. Craig re-teamed with Brooklyn Nine-Nine exec producers Dan Goor and Luke Del Tredici for Peacock's hit scripted comedy show Killing It, currently filming season two.

Sarah Michelle Gellar (Icon Award) is a producer and a Golden Globe-nominated and Emmy Award-winning actor. Beginning her career as a child actor, Gellar has remained a leader on television, theater, and the big screen. Her list of credits, which include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Cruel Intentions, Do Revenge, and the Scooby-Doo franchise, have helped her to build and maintain her status in the industry. Wolf Pack, which Gellar stars in and executive produces, was filmed in Atlanta and premieres Thursday, Jan. 26 on Paramount+.

Sterlin Harjo (Variety Showrunner Award) is the co-creator, executive producer and showrunner of FX's award-winning Reservation Dogs, a comedy series following four Indigenous teenage friends living on a reservation in Oklahoma. The series has been renewed for season three. Currently, Harjo's series Poster Girls, which he co-wrote with bestselling novelist Jonathan Lee, is in development with FX Productions. LeBron James' company, SpringHill, is producing Rezball (Netflix), a series Harjo co-wrote with Sydney Freeland. Harjo has created and directed five feature films: three narrative dramas and two documentaries. Each of his films are set in Oklahoma and address contemporary Indigenous experiences.

For more information and passes, visit scadtvfest.com.

"Connection" and "celebration" are two words that the student team behind the new SCAD Chinese New Year Red Pocket Game feel epitomize the global holiday. For HuaHua Liu (M.F.A., advertising; B.F.A., motion media design, 2018), Yueze Liu (M.A., illustration), and Rui Wang (M.F.A., advertising), Chinese New Year represents the perfect moment to combine their strengths and create an entertaining, meaningful experience for WeChat users.

"The theme behind the game is to celebrate and connect our Chinese students and parents with an interactive experience, and let them know SCAD wants to celebrate with them," says HuaHua Liu, the project's art director.

Throughout the digital experience, users earn special photo frames for social media. The ultimate prize is a shareable red envelope, calling back to one of the holiday's ubiquitous symbols: hóng bāo, or "red pockets," filled with money as a gift from loved ones. Whimsical rabbits lead users through the game and pay homage to the Chinese zodiac and 2023 as the Year of the Rabbit.

The game's world brings traditional Chinese motifs to the screen with crisp and colorful motion graphics. As the team's illustrator, Yueze Liu blended geometric compositions with delicate line work to create her decorative illustrations. "I hope users see a modern side of our traditional festival," Liu says. "I also hope they feel a sense of belonging to both our school and our culture."

Rui Wang rounded out the team as art director, implementing the design processes learned during his SCAD classes to help lead the efficient collaboration. "I use the entire workflow on a daily basis," says Wang. "That's why we were able to complete the game in such a short period of time."

The final product is equal parts playful and sincere. It extends a vibrant "thank you" to the game's users and the recipients of its limited-edition red pocket. The team's vision and ingenuity make it possible for students and parents around the world to share in the time-honored Chinese tradition.

"All parts of this project were rewarding, from designing the game in a short period to finishing illustration and animation. It's a great honor to work with Rui and Yueze, two of the wonderful students I met at SCAD," Liu says. "We celebrate not only Chinese New Year but also this project."

See more of each artist's design work at their respective sites: HuaHua Liu, Yueze Liu, and Rui Wang.

In her second quarter as a SCAD Atlanta faculty member, sequential art professor Shadia Amin (M.F.A., sequential art, 2019; B.F.A., sequential art, 2015) has quickly become a student favorite. Pre-class Spongebob-singalongs and stories about manhwa artist Kim Jung Gi are certainly fun factors, but as Amin says, "Being a cool professor doesn't matter if the students don't feel they've learned a lot. I make sure they come away from class prepared."

Growing up in Barranquilla, Colombia, Amin was "an anime kid" who drew mostly to entertain friends at school, inspired by the Sunday color comics insert in El Heraldo. She considered taking graphic design classes at her local college and was "not focused on a career." After completing an International Baccalaureate program however, Shadia met a SCAD recruiter who suggested a degree in sequential art, and the path towards receiving a scholarship. She arrived in Savannah in 2010 to begin her SCAD journey.

The world's first university to offer both undergraduate and graduate degrees in sequential art nurtured excellence in Amin. After completing her B.F.A., she drew professionally for two years before returning to earn her masters. Her subsequent success as an artist and illustrator on Scholastic/Marvel's Spider-Ham, Oni Press and Lion Forge's Aggretsuko, and the popular Comics Kingdom strip Olive & Popeye elevated her visibility as a penciler, inker, and colorist. Last fall she again returned to SCAD—this time to teach the next generation.

"We're delighted to have Prof. Shadia Amin on board in Atlanta," says associate chair of sequential art Pat Quinn. "Her commitment to enhancing the SCAD student experience through her own professional endeavors has opened the eyes of many of our students. Her notable work in comics means that as a cartoonist and professor, she brings a lot to the proverbial table."

Last November, Amin drove to Savannah for an in-store appearance at Neighborhood Comics, where she signed copies of "Spider-Ham: Hollywood May-Ham," sequel to the hit "Spider-Ham: Great Power, No Responsibility." Notorious for her visual gags and puns, Amin pointed out that the graphic novel includes a character drawn in tribute to late, great SCAD professor (and long-time Spider-Man artist) Tom Lyle. "He was an important professor for me personally, and we miss him very much," she says.

Amin embodies the essence of SCAD family: students and professors connecting with open hearts to keep the wheel turning. In the 2022-23 academic year, Amin is teaching courses including Drawing for Illustrators (ILLU 714) and Illustrating Beyond the Page: The Narrative Experience (ILLU 309). During Anatomy and Perspective for Sequential Art (SEQA 707), she realized her students were aided "by me going through their work and demonstrating how to correct it. We work on tablets, and I show them how to divide the body to create proportion. When they see what I'm doing, they are able to do better work themselves."

Isn't this privileged information? Shouldn't an M.F.A. come with an NDA?

"Teaching is not gate-keeping," Prof. Amin says with a smile. "Anything I can share about my own professional experience that is useful or valuable to my students, I'm happy to do so. It's why I'm here."

Panel from "Spider-Ham: Great Power, No Responsibility" (Marvel/Scholastic, 2021) by Steve Foxe (author) and Shadia Amin (artist).

On February 24, 2023, top companies from around the world will recruit talented SCAD students and alumni for jobs, internships, and freelance opportunities at SCAD Career Fair. Students can make the most of the university's biggest annual virtual recruitment event by preparing their game plan in advance. It's an ideal time to embrace this year's motto: "Ready, set, hired!"

"Career Fair is not only about a senior getting a dream job, it's an opportunity for all students to take important steps towards—and into—their creative career," says Jaimie Vela, Director of Career Advising, Career and Alumni Success. "It's equally important for underclassmen to be making initial connections with companies at Career Fair. Polishing your portfolio and perfecting your pitch are keys to the process. All students are encouraged and welcome to participate."

Presented by the office for Career and Alumni Success, the virtual SCAD Career Fair is accessible via the designated Career Fair Plus platform. Students create a personal profile, schedule interviews with top companies, and access virtual rooms on the day of the event. This year, more than 100 companies will engage with students and alumni. Representing a wide swathe of the business and creative world, the companies include Belk, Inc., Campbell Ewald, Deloitte Digital, Disney, DreamWorks Animation, Lululemon Athletica, and WEBTOON.

"We enjoyed attending Career Fair, where we talked to very talented students," wrote Michael Schneck, recruiter for Macy's, Inc., following SCAD Career Fair 2022. "We had a great experience, and as a result, we have a student joining us for our Corporate Merchandising Internship in NYC this summer."

That student, Emily Chen (B.F.A., fashion marketing and management), spent last June and July as women's ready-to-wear active merchandising intern at Macy's in New York City. "I thank Michael Schneck and the rest of the Macy's recruiting team who guided me throughout the recruiting process," says Chen. "I would also like to thank my SCAD career advisor Jaimie Vela, who facilitated my Career Fair experience." Chen worked on an eight-week-long Macy's group project "Win with Fashion & Style: My Star Space" that was presented to senior executives. Chen returned to SCAD this year to complete her FASM degree and begin her final preparations for her creative career, empowered by Career Fair.

SCAD Career Fair is dedicated to providing students with the opportunity to connect with top companies and prepare for their professional journeys—at whichever stage of that journey the individual may have reached. Learn more here.

"My aim with students is to teach them how to think, not what to think," says film and television professor Chris Donahue. "In class, we work on ‘crucial conversations,' meaning how to discuss everything from the safe placement of a ladder to the characters in a screenplay. I also teach time management and process and problem-solving, so that students are equipped to create the culture they want on-set."

A year into his SCAD teaching career, Donahue is bringing relatability and a compassionate disposition to the classroom. As a professor and a producer, he's already put in the work.

Donahue received an Academy Award in 1998 as producer of short film Visas and Virtue. His recent credits include executive producing 2020 motorcycle feature documentary Caffeine and Gasoline. Yet the Dallas native wears his storied career lightly—he prefers discussing what his students are doing now. "When you're my student and we're in class, I want to know what your experience was like working on-set this weekend," Donahue says.

Film and television department chair D.W. Moffett is unreservedly enthusiastic: "Chris joining our film and television faculty means having a brilliant and dynamic resource here for students as we continue to evolve our department. His award-winning professional experience and unwavering positivity serve to prepare our students to achieve at the highest possible level."

Before joining SCAD, Donahue's interest in the university was piqued by an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article about the expansion of the media studio and the creation of a film backlot. He is impressed by SCAD putting the means of production into students' hands, and how that prioritizes the student experience.

"Our role as educators is changing. We're more curators of content now. Today, I can direct an individual student to specific interviews and films to watch. The curriculum doesn't have to be uniform for the entire class." Donahue mentions a student who was interested in becoming a Steadicam operator whom he pointed towards the work of J. Michael Muro. "I encourage students to find a professional whose work they admire, then do a deep dive on their career."

Donahue's deep, detailed knowledge of the film industry combines with an openness to transformative possibility. He is equally engaged discussing the films of Robert Towne and Robert Altman as he is extolling the work of Christine Vachon and Andrea Arnold.

In the first quarter of the new calendar year 2023, Donahue will reconnect with emerging student filmmakers. "There are students I taught in Preproduction: From Concept to Set (FILM 115), and four quarters later I'm seeing them again as they're doing preproduction for their thesis films. It's wonderful to witness."

This quarter Donahue will also teach Short Film Screenwriting (FILM 265), a course as flexible as the definition of content itself. "We'll write short film scripts, and we'll also explore writing for new formats, including how to write podcasts, text-chat stories, radio formats like The Moth, Web-based graphic stories, and Op-Docs. I want to engage students in the place they find most engaging. It's all connected."

"Who am I?" wonders Nilsson Cajamarca (M.A., motion media design, 2022). "My name? My customs? The music I listen to? The things I spend time doing?"

Facets of identity are at the core of Nilsson's M.A. final project, the forthcoming motion media work "That's Not Me." As its creator explains, "In it, I explore ‘me' from different perspectives."

This much is true: A native of Villavicencio, Colombia, Cajamarca speaks Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, English. He has learned basic French and Chinese. He is a longtime vegetarian. He is fascinated by the roots of hip-hop culture, and a devotee of the acrobatic art of capoeira. He is the first person in his family to receive a university degree. He was awarded the Dean's Fellowship to come to SCAD just over a year ago.

In February, Nilsson attended the student-led motion graphics conference at SCAD called CoMotion. He made key connections with guests from professional creative studios, including Scholar, the award-winning production company founded by alumni William Campbell (B.F.A., broadcast design, 2005; B.F.A., motion graphic design, 2005) and Will Johnson (B.F.A., broadcast design, 2006; B.F.A., motion graphic design, 2006).

Nilsson: "Scholar messaged me that same week and asked, 'Do you want to intern with us?' I replied: 'Sure! Let's go!'"

Still image from the music official video for "Haz Más" by El Chojin.

Nilsson Cajamarca:

When I was studying at college in Bogotá, pursuing a master's degree seemed unthinkable. Then I went to an education fair and met a SCAD representative, and learned about the motion media program, and that Motionographer founder Justin Cone (M.F.A., motion graphics, 2008) went to SCAD. I was impressed, and when I saw SCAD was ranked #1 by The Rookies, I said, okay I'm going to try to go. I got in touch with students from Colombia who had gone to SCAD and they all told me, SCAD is going to change your life!

When I started in Fall 2021, I was still in Colombia, learning online via SCADnow. Then I came to Savannah, and my first quarter here got involved in the SCAD motion media club. MOMELOVE prepared me for CoMotion with workshops on how to refine my brand identity, upgrade my portfolio, and cut my demo reel—even a session of mock interviews. That led directly to meeting with Scholar during CoMotion.

I didn't really know what I was going to be part of when I started my Scholar internship. I worked with a team on a pitch for Adobe, a TV commercial for Lowe's, and a project for LEGO Education called "Rebuild the World," about a character named Hannah whose childhood dream  is to become a scientist specializing in marine wildlife. To animate her story, I collaborated for two and half months to develop ten seconds of animation, which indicates the level of attention to detail at Scholar. The LEGO project wound up being featured on Behance. My six-year-old sister watched it, saw Hannah and said, "Wow! She can do those things! She can be a sea explorer and scientist and play with robots!" That's meaningful and wonderful.

Being at Scholar was a huge moment for me. I see myself one day as a creative director or animation director, but for now, I want to be under the wing of people more skilled than me. The role of the motion designer is always changing, and for prospective students considering SCAD, know that you're going to acquire and refine all the technical skills you need to do the work, and you're going to develop a deeper component of conceptualization around that work.

The conceptual aspect is the key, because it can be translated to new skills, new technologies, new aesthetics, and applied to new tools. The future will be here soon. We can be the ones to create it. At SCAD I've made friends from the U.S., China, Taiwan, Korea, India, UK, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, El Salvador, and Mexico. We all want to make the most of our SCAD experience and collaborate as much as we can. I feel blessed.

Visit Nilsson Cajamarca!

Nilsson would like to acknowledge Director of Admission Peter May for assistance throughout his time at SCAD.

On the second Saturday in September, nine SCAD students stood in the rusted shell of Colonial-Hites Manufacturing Plant in West Columbia, South Carolina. Wade Caughman, Director of Development for real estate development firm Jams + Stark, addressed the group: "When you look at the outside of this building, you'll see the sign that says THINK GLOBAL. That goes back to when signage was made here for everything from Hartsfield-Jackson Airport to Epcot Center to the University of Qatar. That's the level of ambition we want you to bring to this project."

Preservation design graduate student Sebastian Escobar Campos surveyed the former factory: "I see so much potential here. It gets me excited about the possibilities of how we might transform old space into a new place. We can do something modern while incorporating Colite history."

Jams + Stark's Wade Caughman (left) listens to SCAD student Sebastian Escobar Campos.

The students, all participants in an exclusive SCADpro project in partnership with Jams + Stark, were tasked with designing the transformation of the 155,000 square-foot space into a live-work-play creative mecca called "Colite City." Brooklyn's Industry City and Atlanta's popular Ponce City Market are precedents, and the goal, as Caughman prompted, is to spur the revitalization of West Columbia.

"The Colite City project enables students to collaborate on a real-world preservation design application," explained SCAD architecture professor and faculty point person Ryan Madson. "Students work on a complex design brief that addresses adaptive reuse of an inspiring post-industrial site. We explore branding, landscape design, wayfinding, master planning, web design, and innovative programming for future tenants."

After the West Columbia site visit, students returned to Savannah. Fall quarter gained momentum. Twice a week, they met to work on deliverables from technical drawings to user experience case studies. Banded under the courses Studio 1: Preservation Through Public Policy (PRES 710) and Studio IV: Policy and Planning (PRES 310), the group was guided by Madson's expertise in urban planning and landscape architecture.

Hazen Soucy and Madeline Jensen share ideas.

Five weeks passed. In an upstairs classroom in Clark Hall, 3D Autodesk renderings were projected on a wall beside a marked-up white board. Hazen Soucy (B.F.A., architecture) and Madeline Jensen (M.F.A., interior design; B.F.A., interior design, 2022) led a spirited debate about the relative merits of layouts for an outdoor area in Colite City. Professor Madson listened at length, then interjected: "Don't call it green space, call it a lawn." Everyone laughed. "Remember this is intended for real people."

Another five weeks went by. Suddenly it was the final day of the academic quarter. This time Wade Caughman was on the students' turf, upstairs in Ruskin Hall. The ambitious project was ready to present.

Preservation design master's candidate Savannah Kruzner: "The first time we met you Wade, we were at the site, and you gave us a challenge to design Colite City as a place where we would want to live. After brainstorming, we realized we all have different reasons why we'd want to live in the Colite City that we've designed."

Each student spoke in turn. Thoughtful responses were epitomized by Zheng He (M.F.A., preservation design): "I want to live in Colite City because it's a city within a city, so I can live a lifestyle of convenience, while having more outdoor space to experience nature."

It was time for the comprehensive proposal. "We see Colite City as the next chapter in a continuum for greater Columbia, West Columbia, and the site itself," said Madeline Jensen.

"Colite Industries did an incredible thing representing the community of West Columbia on a global scale," said Kruzner. "We want that global scale to exist within the fabric of the site in Colite City."

With Kruzner, Jensen, and Campos leading the presentation, the blend of technical design and compelling narratives made areas within Colite City like The Hangar, Soda Street, and Industry Alley come alive.

Jams + Stark's Wade Caughman sat front and center. An hour later, he clapped his hands: "This is incredible. You exceeded my expectations, and even convinced me of a couple things I didn't consider possible."

As the beaming students gathered to shake hands with Caughman, Professor Madson smiled. "We are thrilled by the opportunity for our designs to be brought to life by our partners at Jams + Stark."


Front row (l-r): Sebastian Campos, Madeline Jensen, Savannah Kruzner, Zheng He, Kate Dutilly, Jackie Boling, Savannah Tuten.
Back row (l-r): Hazen Soucy, Edward Harrison, Prof. Ryan Madson.

Maximum respect to Prof. Ryan Madson and the SCADpro x JAMS + STARK fall 2022 students:

Jaqueline Boling (M.F.A., preservation design)
Sebastian Escobar Campos (M.F.A., preservation design)
Katherine Dutilly (M.F.A., preservation design)
Edward O. Harrison (B.F.A., preservation design)
Zheng He (M.F.A., preservation design)
Madeline Jensen (M.F.A., interior design; B.F.A., interior design, 2022)
Savannah Kruzner (M.A., preservation design)
Hazen Soucy (B.F.A., architecture)
Savannah Mae Tuten (M.F.A., preservation design; B.F.A., painting, 2021)

From Gulfstream grows greatness: Winner of multiple European Design and Core77 Awards, Devin Rooney (B.F.A., industrial design, 2022) is among SCAD's most decorated designers. "We're in a time when we need to push forward as designers and humanitarians," says the inspired award-winner.

Rooney's senior thesis project, Bandori, was a recent finalist for ArtsThread's Global Design Awards. The home aquaponics system "grows mushrooms and leafy greens with the waste of fish" using a sustainable mycelium filtration system. As Rooney wrote in her project notes: "Bandori elicits stewardship for the natural world by placing the user back in the food chain."

An attractive amalgam of ceramics and hand-blown glass, Bandori currently occupies pride of place in the lobby of SCAD's Gulfstream Center for Design. Understanding how her feat came to fruition means learning something of the designer herself. From Mount Olive, New Jersey, Devin believes SCAD "really changed my perception of intelligence. After high school, where so much is based on standardized testing, I've gained enormous confidence here."

"Devin grew as a designer during her studies at SCAD to become a powerhouse of creativity," says Paul McGroary, professor of industrial design. "She has a wonderful ability to alternate between lateral and logical thinking. She cares deeply about everything she designs, and Bandori is a great example of that. I am excited to see her journey evolve. "  

"Professor McGrory helped foster me into the designer that I am today," Devin says, emphasizing his course Development of Product Form (INDUS 250). "He helped me understand emotion as the key to storytelling, and how to talk to people through my work."

Devin acknowledges multiple professors who have been keys to her development. In a sense, her faculty ecosystem aligns with the principles at play in her work.

She deems Biomimicry: Collaborative, Nature-inspired Innovation (SUST 439) with design for sustainability professor Scott Boylston a life-changing experience: "We took field trips into the woods at 8 a.m. to do ‘quietening,' listening and looking, observing the way organisms interact and how nature comes together as a unified entity." Studio sessions with Cathy Sakas, Biologist at the Design Table, further clarified Rooney's commitment to integrating the scientific process and design. "When scientists and designers come together, we can effect better solutions," Rooney says.

Bandori rendering by Devin Rooney.

Devin's findings all flowed into Bandori. She consulted experts including Ronald Martinez of Hostess City Hot Glass and Claude Galipeau at True Earth Farms to ensure her physical prototype attained optimum function. She modeled in SolidWorks and rendered in physics simulator KeyShot 10. The clay component was informed by a structure printed on an Ender-3 3D printer. "It involved 24 prints that each took about 20 hours before I plastic-welded them together, to make the plaster molds."

With her prototype complete, Devin delivered a video trailer as gripping as a blockbuster and vivid as her beloved Chanterelle fungi. Sustainability is an active, ethical necessity, conceptually and practically. The basil and spinach look delicious.

"With Bandori, I wanted to create something that will bond people to their environment through an object," Devin concludes. "As a society, we need to reestablish the connection with who we are innately as human beings. There's something so powerful about working with nature."

See more of Devin's award-winning work — including her future footwear designs — at her website.

The wheels began turning in January 2020, in a course called The Human Factor, Design Thinking (SDES 502).

"Lauren Dodge walked into my classroom as a first quarter grad student with little understanding of the design process," says professor of innovation Nicholas Dine. "I saw her quickly mature into a deeply talented researcher and design strategist with a competitive spirit."

In fall 2020, Dine drafted Dodge (M.F.A., service design) into a ten-week SCADpro challenge for Snap-on, Inc. Dodge was one of 17 total students from nine different majors working on innovative designs for Snap-on's Bahco professional cycling tool line.

The project was right in Lauren's wheelhouse: cycling is the reason Dodge came to SCAD in the first place. After earning a dietetics degree at University of Georgia in 2015, Dodge began competing internationally for Automatic Racing. SCAD cycling coach Alec Hoover took note, and in late 2019, he offered Dodge a full scholarship to come to SCAD to earn her masters' degree and ride her bike.

"She is the one to always say yes to opportunity, to make the most of something," Hoover told Dodge's hometown media outlet.

In 2021-2022, Dodge was named SCAD Women's Cycling Most Valuable Performer. She was subsequently sidelined after fracturing her scaphoid in June, but on a recent sunny Savannah morning, Lauren, 29, jogged up to Big Bon Bodega wearing only a soft cast. "I'll be back on my bike tomorrow."

Lauren Dodge:

I had Professor Nick Dine my first quarter here. He knew I was into cycling. I'd drag my bike into class most of the time. When he became SCADpro professor for the Snap-on project, he found me a spot on the research team. The design challenge was creating bike tools — perfect!

There is a good bit left to do in the world of designing bike tools, and tools, period. Most tools have been created to be used by men, but the dilemma is that men entering the industry now do not have the same hand and arm strength that the tools were originally designed for. There's a need to redesign for the less brawny guy, which also makes tools more accessible to women. And there's increased interest in female mechanics entering the field. This exciting intersection of circumstances is the subject of my master's thesis. 

The SCADpro project led to an internship with Snap-on. Alex Whitman (B.F.A., industrial design), Thibaut Deluca-Verley (B.F.A., industrial design), and I all went to Snap-on headquarters in Kenosha, Wisconsin for three months in summer 2021, doing research and working with their innovation team. Snap-on has for many years been doing research on female mechanics. My thesis is 100 percent a result of the Snap-On SCADpro projects.

I've loved my SCAD experience. When I arrived, I had no idea I'd become a service designer. Service design is co-created, people-based system design. It can involve digital, it can involve manufacturing, but at its core service design means coordinating people and making the unknown pieces of human activity more known. You pitch your work to managers and department heads so that they're willing to take on your recommendations.

I'll finish my master's thesis and graduate in the spring. The final thing I absolutely have to do is get a medal at cycling nationals, because every other piece of my SCAD experience has been above and beyond what I could have expected.

Follow Lauren on Instagram!

"When you know how you would move, you understand how the characters will move,” says Emily Rodriguez (B.F.A., animation, 2020).

A native of Miami Lakes, Florida, Rodriguez danced on a competition team in high school, until injuries redirected her career goals. Studying At SCAD Atlanta, Emily was able to connect her pursuits. “Through my experience with movement, I learned how to flow and transition between steps in my animation,” she says.

"Emily has a passion for learning and pushing herself to the next level, and she never settles,” says SCAD Atlanta animation professor Jenna Zona. “As my student, she was always looking for the next project to be better than the last and took her critiques seriously. Emily valued the learning process, resulting in her ability to adapt and grow quickly."

At SCAD AnimationFest 2022, Emily participated on the Alumni Voices panel, speaking about her work on shows including Netflix’s Paradise PD and Hoops, and Adult Swim’s Birdgirl. She is currently a 2D animator at Awesome, Inc. in Atlanta, GA.

Emily Rodriguez:

Growing up, I knew I had a talent, but lacked resources in South Florida. My mother supported my passion and enrolled me in all general art classes. I distinctly remember being the only 14-year-old in a room of nine-year-olds painting on canvas and trying to learn as much technique as I could.

When I arrived at SCAD, I had a significant learning curve. Animation is very technical. For the first year, I only studied 3D animation. I learned a ton, but it was a struggle. I love to draw, and I missed the illustration aspect.

When I met Professor Zona and enrolled in her class Animation: Digital Produciton and Compositing [ANIM 382], I realized, 'Oh, there's more to animation than 3D!' In one quarter, my creative world expanded enormously. Professor Zona's class was the starting point for me to develop the skill I loved: traditional 2D animation, which I now do professionally and clicks in my brain like nothing else. The projects I created in Professor Zona's class helped me land my first internship at Bento Box. I told Professor Zona my goal; she pushed me to achieve it. 

At SCAD, I gained confidence and affirmed my passion for animation. I'm excited to be an animator because it has been my dream growing up since middle school. I hoped I would be an animator, but before SCAD, I needed to figure out how to get to where I'm right now. Every day is a blessing that I get to go to my job and make art for a living and enjoy it. I work alongside several SCAD alumni at Awesome Inc. Growing professionally together is the best thing.

As a Cuban-American, my work ethic is my heritage. I'm relentless in honoring the sacrifices of my family. I carry the work ethic wherever I go and in everything I achieve. I want to make them proud. My success and achievement are in their honor.

Photos of Emily Rodriguez by Caitlin Smith, Honey Photography & Planning