Who better to do this work? Sauda Mitchell (B.A., visual communication, 2013) is an archivist, artist, and educator—indivisible facets of a unified identity, all on display in her solo exhibition Re-Cor-Dare, at the Jepson Center in Savannah.

"Having attended SCAD, having worked at the Georgia Historical Society, having archived and processed the W.W. Law Collection—all those experiences have shaped my view of history," Mitchell says. "It's my responsibility to share what I have had the privilege to engage with."

Re-Cor-Dare—impeccably installed in a light-filled upper wing of the Telfair's flagship museum—comprises a series of works in an array of tactile media: prints, paintings, artist books, textiles. The exhibition's title is an etymological extension of the act of recording, incorporating the Latin roots "cor" (heart) and "dare" (to give).

The formal evolution of Re-Cor-Dare dates to 2017 and Mitchell's SCAD Alumni Atelier residency when, she explains, "I met board members from Friends of the African American Arts, which led to crossing paths with Erin [Dunn, Telfair associate curator], who scheduled a visit to my studio. I showed her my sketches for Voyage, and she asked if I'd be the next #art912 artist"—the Telfair initiative dedicated to exhibiting artists living and working in Savannah.

Displayed in the gallery's hull-like big room, Voyage Windsails No. 1-5 are hand-painted acrylic, cotton fabric, and hand-dyed indigo textile pieces depicting a journey in the Atlantic slave trade. The sails— mounted in windows, not on walls—render the gallery pelagic. Iconography reappears. "The star is significant because it references the journey enslaved people made," Mitchell says. Speakers in a half-baffled corner swell with Robert Glasper's 2004 rendition of Herbie Hancock's 1965 composition Maiden Voyage. The immersive presentation suits the work.

Sauda Mitchell (American, b. 1981); Voyage No. 3, 2020; linoleum on paper; courtesy of the artist.

"Inspiration came from a poem I wrote as a SCAD student, titled Voyage, about the Middle Passage," Mitchell explains. "The poem had been tucked away for years. Then, when I heard Glasper's Maiden Voyage, it was as if I was transported into a ship in the Middle Passage, I could hear moans, bees buzzing, water—all elements that were very much part of my poem. I revisited my sketchbook and reread that poem, and it was timed perfectly to the music. From that experience I decide to create a series called Voyage."

On an adjacent wall, sense memories manifest in a lively collaboration between the artist and her father, wood carver Alfonzo Mitchell.

"As a child, I'd go downtown and smell the tobacco and see it going out of the silos," says Sauda, a Winston-Salem, NC native. Finding Grandma Judie comprise two pieces whose flue-cured whole tobacco leaves hang from walking sticks carved by the elder Mitchell. Viewers peer through the long leaves to see portraits of ancestors.

"I'd conducted genealogy for other patrons at the Georgia Historical Society, but never provided myself that service," Mitchell says. "When I started digging, I discovered that my grandmother's maiden name was Hairston. That's how I made the connection to the Hairston family, and found the book by Henry Wiencek." As documented in The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White (St. Martin's Press, 1999), the Hairstons owned several plantations and thousands of people—including Mitchell's great-great grandmother. "This is the first time that I am incorporating my own family history and how it unveiled itself into my work."

Re-Cor-Dare exemplifies Mitchell's mastery at using archival research to facilitate creation in the resonant present, an ability that makes her invaluable as the much-beloved archives and special collections librarian at SCAD. "It's an energetic collaboration with SCAD faculty, always," Mitchell says, of connecting students to proper collection items, and supporting their ideal learning outcomes. "In order to curate and bring together a collection of resources for students to engage with, you have to understand what they're learning, and what is going to propel them and inspire them." And who better to do that work?

Portrait of Sauda Mitchell by Labeeb Abdullah (B.F.A., motion media, 2004).

Re-Cor-Dare is on view at the Jepson Center in Savannah through Feb. 27, 2022.

The student experience at SCAD is as diverse as the student body itself. Offering more than 100 graduate and undergraduate degree programs to the nearly 16,000 currently enrolled students, SCAD offers personal coaching, a professional presentation studio, and peerless facilities to empower students to create the future of art and design. Here are ten memorable posts from 2021 that focused on student work.

Stina Wen: like a fist: Working in alternative materials including concrete, this jewelry graduate student was featured to great success at Trunk Show 2021, part of SCAD Fashion Week.

Nathaniel Adair's balancing act: A commitment to refinement is the key to this sculptor's artistic process. SCAD Studio, the industrial design and sculpture facility in Midtown Atlanta, is his mecca.

Makumbi Muleba's power of connection: A branded entertainment graduate student at SCAD Atlanta, Muleba returned to his native Zambia to create a program teaching digital literacy to young women.

Emily Castro: in motion: This soccer standout and motion media designer has found a way to combine her passions in pursuit of her ideal creative career.

‘When Dada Meets…' Changran Du: This graphic design graduate student's innovative exhibition catalog won the International Design Awards' Gold Award, and the admiration of her thesis chair.

Zikun "Tim" Teng: filmmaker in progress: What does it means to be a filmmaker? An industrious graduate student from Tianjin, China is intent on expanding the possibilities.

The essential freshness of Archana Menon: Panel appearances at WantedDesign Manhattan and Design Miami rounded off the year for this furniture design graduate student. Bigger benchmarks are yet to come.

Usman Ibrahim's busy work: Anyone strolling through Savannah's Forsyth Park this year would have seen the inspired, enigmatic installation by this radical typographer. But what did it mean?

Ivana stays on brand: A desire to understand human motivation drives this branded entertainment student to develop new approaches to connecting—and to help her family's restaurant group grow.

Zachra Pradipta defines UX design: From a SCADpro project to an internship with Amazon, this UX designer was interviewed in May, right as she was about to graduate and embark on her creative career.

Thank you for following SCADworks this year. See you in 2022!

Speaking with alumni about their professional accomplishments illuminates the value and diversity of the SCAD experience. With over 40,000 degree-holding Bees worldwide, career success is woven into every fiber of the university. Here are ten memorable posts from 2021 that focused on work by our stellar alumni.

SCADpro Fund backs Angela Benton's Streamlytics: After her previous startups garnered praise from CNN, this design superstar's newest venture is changing the monetization of personal data.

Hanna Allen: the perfect twist: This Atlanta-based sculptor's work is strong enough to support climbing and swinging. Her choice of material is surprising.

Anna Haldewang brings almonds joy: Since this post back in April, this agripreneur's latest innovation has been named a Top-10 New Product Winner at the World AG Expo 2022.

AnimationFest presents ‘The Ocean Duck': This short film by animation alumni Huda Razak and My Anh Ngo lit up this year's signature festival with its unique take on the illuminated manuscript.

Joel Ax named one of 100 Greatest Men's Swimmers and Divers: The College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of American named this furniture design alumnus to a list that includes iconic Olympians Caleb Dressel and Mark Spitz.

Maren Krings' vision: As our planet experiences a cataclysmic climate crisis, this widely traveled photographer promotes an actionable solution.

Sierra Lawson tells her story: Following an internship with Blumhouse Productions, this dramatic writer is parlaying her family-focused scripts into an inspiring phenomenon.

Anthony TungNing Huang: dancing in ink: An exquisite poster design for The Royal Ballet was the result of this accomplished illustrator's investigation of a new technique.

Johnathan Hayden flies high: New York Fashion Week 2021 attendees sang the praises of this designer's stunning debut collection, a conceptual collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Reid.

Catalog alchemist Alaina Colleen: The 2021-2022 SCAD course catalog creator transformed classic inspirations into a stunning set of SCAD-style symbols. Fit for an art car too!

Thank you for following SCADworks this year. See you in 2022!

Sterling Jones (B.F.A., art history, 2021; B.F.A., business of beauty and fragrance, 2021) double-majored in degree programs that, at first, may not seem complementary.

In 2018, Jones was an art history major studying at SCAD Lacoste, developing her focus on French language and cultural studies when "I saw on Instagram that SCAD announced a new major, business of beauty and fragrance." She returned to Savannah the following quarter and added BEAU as her second major.

While completing her BEAU capstone—a luxury body care line for men called Peak—she concurrently composed her art history thesis on the cultural conversations of artist Barbara Kruger. As Jones says: "SCAD inspired my creativity to new levels."

Sterling Jones:

My SCAD experience was eye-opening, magnetic, and immersive. I began at SCAD in 2016 as an art history major. By my second quarter, I immersed myself in different projects and groups outside of art history. I did it by going to student conferences, being a student ambassador, and becoming a student model for fashion, photography, and beauty projects.

In professor Meloney Moore's course Beauty and Fragrance New Product Launch (BEAU 330), I co-created a project with my team members, Brittany Heath (B.F.A., business of beauty and fragrance, 2021) and Iris Kang (B.F.A., business of beauty and fragrance). Our project was developing a new 360 brand campaign and extension focused on the Korean brand, CosRX.

The whole idea of creating a new skincare line for men was utterly foreign to me. The project challenged me to step out of my comfort zone as an art history major—it's still one of my favorite projects I've ever worked on. I was asked to present it in front of Estée Lauder Companies when they visited SCAD for the first time. That gave me my jump start at ELC as a summer intern and then a full-time associate.

In 2017, I started my blog, and it grew to an amazing beauty media platform called The Beauté Study. During the pandemic, I began to teach about the power of fragrance online to over 100 students from six different countries worldwide live. Now, the classes are available as a permanent option to watch at any time in The Beauté Study's Beauté Vault.

The creativity of my blog gave me a fantastic experience working with brands like Merit Beauty, Cocokind Skincare, Follian, and Mejuri. In 2019, I spoke at The Beauté Culture Conference on my experience as an influencer and digital marketer in the beauty space.

When it came to Peak—the capstone project for my BEAU major—my goal was to build a product experience for men that soothes and hydrates the skin with premium ingredients, while personalizing it with a unique, desirable fragrance. I was inspired to create custom technology to allow my customers to add a customized scent to their product. To create the proper packaging fit for the vision for Peak, I collaborated with Charlie Vazquez (B.F.A., industrial design, 2021).

Currently, I work as a CEO Global Presidential Associate at Estee Lauder Companies. The Presidential Associate Program is an 18-month rotational program offering three consecutive assignments specially designed for undergraduates. It's a fast-paced program, where I change roles every six months. Right now, I am working with the makeup brand Bobbi Brown Cosmetics on the Global Go To Market team. I call it the mothership—I work with product marketing, country regional teams, online, and creative to make products come to life for our customers and their beauty rituals.

I'm grateful SCAD allowed me to cultivate the creative, public speaking, and marketing skills that I use today!

Follow Sterling J. at The Beauté Study on IG!

photo of Sterling Jones: Keno Y (Kevlar Rose Agency)

SCAD achieved a 10-year reaffirmation of its accreditation with no recommendations for improvement from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). This stellar achievement marks the university's second consecutive decade of flawless SACSCOC accreditation and clearly demonstrates the exceptional quality and value of a SCAD education.

Over the last three years SCAD participated in the reaffirmation of accreditation process by SACSCOC—which includes reviews by off-site and on-site committees, the SACSCOC Committees on Compliance and Reports, standing committees of the SACSCOC Board of Trustees, the SACSCOC Executive Council, and a final review and decision by the SACSCOC Board of Trustees. At the December 2021 SACSCOC Annual Meeting, the Commission officially announced the full-term reaffirmation of SCAD's accreditation.

SACSCOC is the body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern United States. All SACSCOC member institutions are required to undergo a reaffirmation of accreditation every 10 years or less. Earning and maintaining accreditation is a major process for any institution and is crucial for quality assurance in higher education.

When accreditation is awarded to an institution of higher education by SACSCOC, the institution has a mission appropriate to higher education; resources, programs, and services sufficient to accomplish and sustain its mission; clearly specified educational objectives that are consistent with its mission and appropriate to the degrees it offers; and that it is successful in assessing its achievement of these objectives and demonstrating improvements. Accreditation by SACSCOC is a statement of the institution's continuing commitment to quality and integrity as well as its capacity to provide effective programs and services based on agreed-upon accreditation standards.

"SCAD celebrates our 10-year reaffirmation of accreditation with joy and pride," said SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace. "The university has once again been confirmed to be in 100% compliance with all accreditation standards and has been awarded the maximum possible term of accreditation. All of us at SCAD share a deep and abiding passion for our mission to prepare students for rewarding lifelong professions, and we proudly deliver on that promise to students and their families. SCAD is truly best in class and the preeminent source of knowledge for aspiring creators, designers, entrepreneurs, and makers."

In addition to university-wide accreditation by SACSCOC, the university's professional M.Arch. degree is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board and the SCAD interior design program leading to the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Atlanta and Savannah is accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation. For more information on the university's accreditation visit scad.edu/accreditation.

The Savannah College of Art and Design is a private, nonprofit, accredited university, offering more than 100 academic degree programs across its locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia; Lacoste, France; and online via SCADnow.

SCAD enrolls 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 100 countries. The innovative SCAD curriculum engages professional-level technology and other advanced learning resources, and affords students opportunities for internships, professional certifications, and real-world assignments with corporate partners through SCADpro, the university's renowned professional research lab and prototype generator.

SCAD is No. 1 in the U.S., according to Art & Object's 2021 Best Art Schools ranking, with additional top rankings for degree programs in interior design, architecture, film, fashion, digital media, and more. Career preparation is woven into every fiber of the university, resulting in a superior alumni employment rate. In a recent study, 99% of SCAD graduates were employed, pursuing further education, or both within 10 months of graduation. SCAD provides students and alumni with lifelong career support through personal coaching, alumni programs, a professional presentation studio, and more. Visit scad.edu.

"By primal, I don't mean primitive, I mean essentialism," says Archana Menon (M.F.A., furniture design), founder of design studio primal-forms. "Simplicity can facilitate reflection and joy."

Strolling coffee-in-hand through Savannah's tree-lined Pulaski Square, Archana is ostensibly on break between academic quarters. In reality, the graduate student has just finished organizing the shipment of her furniture collection to New York City, where the undulating five-foot-long ebonized ash bench and two accompanying ash and alabaster lamps will be displayed during ICFF 2021. She'll be there too, appearing on WantedDesign Manhattan's Emerging Design Showcase panel. Then on to Design Miami, where the designer will discuss her work as part of the Whitewall panel Design Impact: Creating for a More Sustainable Future on November 30.


"I trained as an architect in Mumbai, then worked in interiors and hospitality, and doing residential architecture work in India," Archana says. "During that process, I realized I enjoyed designing furniture and felt that was my calling. SCAD offered me a good scholarship, and I came here to study for a master's degree in Fall 2019—my first time in the United States. Everyone has been so welcoming and supportive, students and faculty. SCAD furniture is family."

Professor Frederic Spector, SCAD associate chair of furniture design, initially encountered Archana in FURN 715, Methods in Furniture Fabrication. "Archana designed and built a tri-legged table with beautiful sculptural tapered turned legs and a curved top," Spector says. "She taught herself how to use the lathe and how to incorporate 3-axis CNC milling, processes typically not covered in that class. In a subsequent graduate studio, where the project was to design and build a work-from-home desk, she designed a desk system where work surfaces, legs, and privacy panels lock in. This whole system was both well-engineered and sculpturally beautiful. She has an amazing eye for form and proportion, and a keen understanding of trends."  

The freshness of Archana's approach is due in part to circumventing the dominant Western design repertoire. "What if there was a more open, pluralistic environment, where we find inspiration in incorporating different cultures into our design?" she asks.

A keen admirer of the artist and landscape architect Isamu Noguchi, Archana designed and built her primal-forms lamps "Lighting I & II" informed by the ancient monolithic columns of Hampi, India. Her bench "Seating I" nods to Eastern cultural traditions of sitting closer to the ground; per its catalog description, the bench "aims to step away from rigid ergonomic standards and promotes fluidity of interpretation." As Archana says: "You can sit on it however you want!"

Having won the 2021 Hospitality Design/West Elm Student Product Design Competition for her "Bloom" lighting collection, Archana received a $5,000 prize and will have her winning design produced and sold by West Elm—a significant, palpable step towards manifesting her design philosophy in the retail space.

"The multi-cultural aspect of SCAD is something that drew me here," Archana says. "I don't treat SCAD as a school, I see it as a start to a professional journey."

Archana Menon (M.F.A., furniture design).

"To me, the most refined aesthetic art form is fabric design," said Pinnacle Award-winning textile designer Wesley Mancini, speaking to an attentive group of SCAD fibers students in Pepe Hall. "I hope some of you become professional fabric designers."

Judging by the enthusiasm in the room, Mancini's wish will be realized. It was the penultimate week of fall quarter, and ten students were about to present their work for the Design of Distinction Competition. In addition to Mancini, the luminaries on hand included Kravet Inc. principal Scott Kravet, Kravet special projects manager Karen Lerman, and Valdese Weavers Chief Creative Officer Laura Levinson. SCAD chair of fibers Cayewah Easley introduced the special guests before passing the mic to fibers professor Deborah First.

"This project was a collaboration between Kravet, Valdese Weavers, and my class," First said. "Kravet furnished archival documents—designs on paper and actual fabrics—that the students used as springboards for their own interpretations. The students researched the time periods and styles of their chosen artworks, then began sketching."

After intense iteration and revision under Mancini's steadfast mentorship, the students' designs were finalized, before being woven at the Valdese Weavers Mill in Valdese, North Carolina. Now, the weavings were all hanging together in Pepe.

Each student stood to offer a précis, elucidating process and inspiration. What was immediately apparent was the diversity of the work.

Saira Netto (B.F.A., fibers) presents her design.

Quinn Carney was attracted to a neo-classic Jacquard weaving in the Kravet archive. Rebecca Durgy created a mash-up of Art Nouveau floral and her beloved bugs. Luke Doiron was drawn to the modern chromatic pattern of a Deco design. Kayla Perno went with 1970s organic shapes. Hannah Cunningham was inspired by a mid-century Modern design, originally a French luggage pattern.

Saira Mary Netto and Alejandra Fiallos both declared an affinity for Bauhaus master Gunta Stölzl, in turn creating designs inspired by Stölzl's work. Netto: "If you turn [a Stölzl composition] upside down it still looks like a complete piece, which is what I tried to achieve in my design."

The cumulative effect of the presentations was like watching a loom come alive.

"I usually tell designers it takes six months to understand Jacquard weaving, and you all did it in about six weeks, which is amazing," said Valdese CCO Levinson.

"It's very difficult to select a winner," declared the ever-exuberant Scott Kravet. "It's like, what kind of ice cream do you like better? All your designs have different interpretations for different purposes. From a mill perspective, they might favor one design. Considering salability, I may select another design for residential or hospitality."

Finally, Kravet's Karen Lerman said: "After much discussion, we have decided that there is no clear winner. You all will receive a certificate of recognition bearing the SCAD, Kravet, and Valdese logos."

Even to the untutored eye, the decision was just. The quality of the student work was, without exception, stunning. Each student was also rewarded with Valdese notebooks and pins and a Kravet coffee table tome.

Outside Pepe Hall, the Kravet mobile showroom van stood parked, chock full of textiles from the company's extraordinary archive. The students walked outside, not heeding the rain, to see what other inspirations they could find.  

Left-to-right: Students Rebecca Durgy, Alejandra Fiallos, Saira Netto, Luke Doiron, Quinn Carney, Sophia Uribe, Hannah Cunningham, Kayla Perno, Emily Bernier, professor Deborah First. (Not pictured: graduate student Kathryn Montgomery.)

Special thanks to: Wesley Mancini, Scott Kravet, Karen Lerman, Laura Levinson, Kevin von Allmen, SCAD fibers professor Katie Buchanan, and the students of Complex Woven Structures: Jacquard Technology (FIBR 415+733).

For Akshay Manjunath, "pressure cooker" is not a pejorative.

At SCAD, Akshay (M.A., industrial design, 2019; M.A., design management, 2019) pursued two master's degrees simultaneously. Among his crucial collaborations, he worked on a SCADpro project, conducting research and data analysis, and providing recommendations for the design of a low-cost modular firepit for Walmart.

"As I observed the excellence of my fellow students, I came to understand that intense challenges are part of life, and you can deal with them instead of getting stressed," he says.

The Walmart connection was key. Akshay is currently a design researcher for the global giant ("When they hired me, they saw the SCADpro project on my resume"), part of a team responsible for creating a better work experience for Walmart's 2.3 million employees.

A native of Bangalore, India, who also holds a bachelor's degree from Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering, Akshay currently works from his home office near Logan Square in Chicago.

Akshay Manjunath:

I joined Walmart in August of this year. My role as design researcher is to work with other researchers to identify challenges in the system, so that employees have a better work experience from point of hiring to retaining their talent. This also means creating a standardized approach for all Walmart employees globally. We use both quantitative and qualitative analysis to help build refined data sets to better understand the experience of the people who work at Walmart. It's been a wonderful experience so far.

I came to SCAD in 2017 with the intention of doing an M.F.A. in industrial design. My first research project in industrial design was The Avocado, a self-tracking device prototype that improves your life by helping you manage your mood. It does this using chromotherapy, aromatherapy, and music therapy, all by recognizing your mood via touch and facial recognition technology. Through that project, we explored what research can do in design, and I realized I wanted to pursue another mastsers, in design management, at SCAD.

In simple terms, design management is the management of the design process through well-informed decisions that define the direction of the outcome. I saw the potential in design management for how it can be used to develop strategies in problem-solving.

The power of SCAD and the importance of its emphasis on collaboration means that as a design management student, I worked with textile designers, themed entertainment designers, actors, UX designers, and animators all together on a single project. To reflect on my projects at SCAD says a lot about the work I do professionally today.

All my SCAD professors were phenomenal. Eduardo Milrud was, at the time, the chair of industrial design, and wonderful to work with. Professor Kwela Sabine Hermanns taught me the basics of research, while professor Hari Nair, who took me deeper to show me the real-world impact made by quality research.

I also had the opportunity at SCAD to meet a number of living legends of design. In 2018, SCAD hosted an event called Crosswalks, featuring Don Norman, considered the founder of UX design; Vijay Kumar, the author of 101 Design Methods; Phil Gilbert, general manager of design at IBM, and others. They came for a panel discussion, and afterwards, I spoke with Don Norman, who told me, "It's good to have empathy, but you as a designer need to control your emotions so you can create solutions." That's always stuck with me.

For students from India who are considering SCAD, I would say: Whether you are new to design or an experienced designer, if you get an opportunity to attend SCAD, go for it. As long as you put in the effort, there is every opportunity to shine. SCAD offers all the resources you need. Even after graduation when you enter the job market, SCAD offers essential assistance and support. SCAD is more like a family — always there to help.

Visit Akshay.

Whether she's antiquing, embroidering, or listening to Peggy Lee, Alaina Colleen (B.F.A., fashion, 2019) brings classic inspirations into the present. A freelance graphic designer based in Kansas City, Alaina created the vivid visual identity for the 2021-2022 SCAD course catalog. In the process, she supplied a set of symbols seen across an array of digital and physical materials — from SCAD admissions brochures and artist notebooks to the Volkswagen Bug “art car” often seen zipping precious cargo safely around Savannah.

Alaina Colleen:

SCAD has such a giant network of talented alumni, and I'm honored to be approached to create artwork for the catalog so early in my career. I was given creative freedom and asked to represent SCAD in a beautiful light, which is easy to do. I wanted to communicate the way SCAD felt to me with prospective students.

In previous years with the catalog, the alumni artist has always created a finished artwork for the front and back covers. I wanted to provide SCAD's creative team with assets they could mix and match. I landed on developing different symbols that can be set to different backgrounds. The deliverables were patterns, textures, borders, a color palette, and a clutch of symbols they could use however they wanted.

Wings are uplifting, and a key represents knowledge, a way of unlocking and discovering yourself and your value. Even if you don't contemplate the meaning of the symbols, you innately understand what they signify.

I'm drawn to warm, sun-kissed colors. There's something that feels really right about primary colors, they're strong and beautiful and in some way nostalgic, I like pairing them with jewel tones and pastels to balance things out. I love small accents of neon around edges of things. I favor metallic color in my work too, because of its talismanic resonance. All this went into what I created for the catalog.

At SCAD, I realized I was and am passionate about many things. I'm happy that I ended up in the fashion program because there are many skillsets folded into it — textiles, sculpture, graphic design, and learning to make gifs and videos too. Coming up with concepts, conducting research, and mood boarding — that all carries over into any medium, and I've been able to transition seamlessly into my work as a graphic designer.

As a fashion major, I took all my apparel classes with professor Sachiko Honda. She's a hawk with an eagle eye. I drew a portrait of her in fashion illustration class. She emphasized attention to detail, and she zoomed in on technique and manipulating fabric and thread in a beautiful way. Her expectations were always very high, and when you get high expectations from a professor you respect, you come to have high expectations of yourself in a healthy way.

In the modern world with all these screens around us, we're exposed to so much input, it's amazing and overwhelming. Working as a graphic designer, I work digitally to get ideas out quickly. I crave working with my hands, and want to make physical things that fill a space and can last longer. Creating embroidery feels meaningful and powerful. To focus on thread going in and out, to make a big picture with tiny threads, there's really nothing like it. When you embroider a garment, it feels special.

I am a multi-disciplinary artist and designer. I struggle with titling myself. It changes. And that's good, right? I mean, how do you apply your skills to the real world? I never want to close the door on different mediums.

Alaina and Louie, gloriously. (Photo: Kendall Eager, B.F.A., photography, 2018)

Cherlene Xinxin Chen will begin her professional career this December as associate designer with The Estée Lauder Companies in Melville, New York. The multinational manufacturer and marketer, home to brands including MAC and Clinique, has sought her services since she interned there earlier this year.

Chen (M.F.A., motion media design) thrived during a 12-week summer internship in the company's R&D program, alongside some three dozen students from around the U.S., predominantly majors in engineering, chemistry, and biological sciences. As a designer, Chen was something of an outlier.

Fortunately, she embraces difference as distinction. Originally from Guangzhou, China, Chen exemplifies the best of the SCAD international graduate student experience. As she says, "It makes a difference to keep the conversation going."

Cherlene Chen:

During spring quarter 2021, I was looking for an internship. On the job portal I came across a post from professor Meloney Moore, associate chair of the business of beauty and fragrance, announcing that Estée Lauder was looking for a graphic design and motion media student intern. Even though I'd never taken a class with her, professor Moore wound up being a great resource, since she was previously Estée Lauder's executive marketing director. I sent in my resume and she helped me secure the interview. It wound up being the best internship I ever had.

It wasn't a typical design internship. I was working in their scientific communication department, creating animations to convey the science of probiotic technology to customers about how the products work. My role was to communicate skin physiology through motion graphics. I produced short animations for Estée Lauder makeup products, for their website, social media, and retail store displays.

My team manager at Estée Lauder was a PhD scientist, not a designer. They'd always hired an outside agency to do that work before. I was able to show what I've learned at SCAD: how to plan and execute my entire process from storyboard to animatic to final product. It's one thing to do the work, but at SCAD I've become a better communicator, capable of explaining what I do.

Prior to my summer internship, I was taking 3D Design and Methodologies in Motion Media (MOME 758) with professor James Gladman, and I made an animation for the MAC lipstick Luscious Fruit Collection. When I arrived at Estée Lauder, I showed it to my new colleagues to ask their opinion, as an icebreaker, to show my skills and that I loved the product. It was all about being prepared in a proactive way.

Halfway through my internship, Estée Lauder expressed interest in wanting me to stay. Now here I am looking forward to starting at Estée Lauder in my new job as associate designer. I love the culture of Estee Lauder, and their respect for diversity. If you see an opportunity you like, catch it.

I believe my experience will be helpful to other international students at SCAD. Not being a native speaker takes a lot of courage. You wonder if people will laugh at your accent. SCAD has events and workshops that are wonderful, plentiful opportunities for you to practice English. Because there are a significant number of Chinese students at SCAD, you can stay in a bubble. It's up to you to leave your comfort zone. Be the one to step out and utilize the incredible resources SCAD offers.

www.cherlenechen.com