"I'm not reduceable to only one thing that I'm passionate about," says the irrepressible Emily Castro (B.F.A., motion media design).

A Sun Conference All-Academic forward on the SCAD women's soccer team, Castro came to Savannah from New Port Richey, Florida in 2018 as "the first person from my immediate family to go directly to college after high school." Now, one quarter shy of graduating, Castro balances her athletic leadership role with her academic course load by integrating her disciplines.

Her soccer IQ — high spatial awareness, kinesthetic perception, and interactive savvy — is manifest in her work as a motion media designer minoring in art history.

"Emily demonstrates a tremendous commitment to research, and to establishing a broad framework for questioning assumptions and addressing the challenges that arise in her work," says motion media design professor John Colette. "She's tremendous asset to our program."

"She's a remarkable individual and a great motivator," says women's soccer head coach Rebecca Gunn. "Emily is an important part of our team."

Emily Castro:

I started playing soccer when I was eight years old. By the time I was a senior at River Ridge High School, I was playing in three different leagues, including ECNL, and I was in all AP classes. Coach Gunn saw me play, and I received an offer from SCAD. I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to study art and play soccer here.

SCAD soccer has allowed me to grow so much. I've never been part of something that was so close-knit. We're a big part of each other's lives. Though the season was canceled in 2020, my junior year helped me understand my academic priorities, and it made me yearn for soccer again. Now, as a senior, I try to take the younger teammates under my wing and let them know, if something happens to you, it probably happened to me. I'm notorious for giving people gift baskets.

There is a tradition of women's soccer players studying motion media at SCAD. Gabbie Garbe (B.F.A., motion media design, 2017) even went on to work for F.C. Barcelona. When I arrived, my predecessor Mikaela Heyboer (B.F.A., graphic design, 2020) introduced me to her classmate Lauren Kittle (B.F.A., motion media design, 2020) who took me to Monty Hall for my first ProjectionFest. I hadn't taken a motion media class yet and I remember thinking, this is what I want to do.

This quarter I'm in Motion Media Projection (MOME 305) with professor John Collette. Projection mapping is experiential. You walk into it, rather than viewing it on your phone. The goal is to bring fans in and create an experience for them. Imagine being in a concert hall or stadium, and seeing moving visuals leading you where you need to go. It's also for the athletes. When you're getting ready for a game and you see your field or track come to life, you can't help but get pumped to do your best possible performance. It amplifies the grandeur.

For my senior project, I'm rebranding the graphics for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. I'll be animating the entire design package, including logo rebrands, lower thirds, and wayfinding projections. My goal is to work for a sports network like ESPN or CBS when I graduate.

Art history is also one of my passions. Studying with professor Gabriela Jasin has helped me understand why artists make choices, and why the choices I make as an artist matter. Art is a driver of the potential for social change. Soccer has the power to do so too.

Come cheer on SCAD women's soccer for Senior Day as they take on rivals Thomas University, Saturday, October 23, 2 p.m. at the SCAD Athletics Complex in Hardeeville, SC!

Zikun "Tim" Teng (M.F.A., film and television) defines himself with one word: "filmmaker." Then he pushes that definition in every available direction.

Motion picture editing, production management, post-production workflow, cinematography, sound recording, photography, and screenwriting are all part of Teng's integrated skill set. His software expertise includes an official Avid certification, alongside aptitude in Adobe Suite, DaVinci Resolve, and Nuke. Impressively industrious, the graduate student can also routinely be found enjoying an artisanal grilled cheese during lunch at the Hive.

"Working in film, my concentration is post-production," Teng says between bites of gooey fontina. "I'm primarily an editor. I'm also responsible for transcoding files. I send the timeline to the departments who are doing sound, color, and visual effects. It's important to know something of all those disciplines as well, otherwise I won't be able to communicate effectively."

Insight into Teng's process comes from professor Lubomir Kocka, who taught Tim in Directing for Film and Television (FILM 729). "Tim is diligent, always prepared, always paying attention during lectures," Kocka says via email. "His dedication is evident in his academic accomplishments. He grasps the tools and techniques of the craft of directing, and continually upgrades his skills."

In winter quarter 2021, Teng edited the short film "Evergreen," directed by Yiwei Yao (M.F.A., film and television). His editing is indivisible from the narrative itself, about two childhood friends in love with the same person. Teng's rhythmic decisions chart the story's stormy emotions.

"Professor Kocka taught us how to design a shot, which is what makes a film a film," Teng says. "He taught us how to get the audience to be empathetic with the character. He also taught us the concept of laterality, how to use the left and right sides of the screen, and why where you position characters on the screen affects how the audience thinks about them."

This is where Tim thrives: using the technical to achieve the emotional. As he says: "The core of art is to provoke emotion." 


Originally from Tianjin, China ("Not as humid as Savannah," he says), Teng came to the United States for the first time in 2017 for a business management summer program at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. When he returned to China to complete his B.A. in Business English at Tianjin Foreign Studies University, he knew he wanted to return to the U.S., and began researching top film schools.

Since arriving at SCAD in 2019, Tim has left Savannah only during his for-credit internship with the iHeartRadio podcast CT101 in summer, 2021 in Stanton, California. "As an intern, I worked on set, and in live event settings, and in post-production. I gained a deeper understand of the entertainment industry, and improved my verbal communication skills. It was a fulfilling eight weeks."

Now beginning his final year at SCAD, Teng continues to take classes that expand his prowess. He was the only non-visual effects major in professor Gray Marshall's course Cinematography for Visual Effects (VSFX). This quarter he is taking Thesis Production, where he and fellow student Yiwei Yao (M.F.A., film and television) are working on "Daughter," the film that will complete their graduate studies. Meanwhile, another short Teng worked on, "Denial," directed by Morgan Davies (M.F.A., film production, 2021), is heading for the festival circuit.

As he wraps up lunch, Tim's phone begins buzzing. It's an alert from SCAD Editors Club, a group that connects students specializing in post-production with producers and directors. Tim makes note of the possibility, then looks up with a grin: "I find opportunities everywhere."

Connect with Zikun "Tim" Teng on LinkedIn.

"One of the first questions I ask my students is, ‘What do the words creative business leadership mean to you?'," says Chris Peeler. "One student this quarter nailed it right away: ‘It means being creative in our approach to business leadership, and creative in our business pursuits.'"

Peeler, a 27-year veteran of digital media and television (WarnerMedia, Sony Pictures, Turner Broadcasting), joined SCAD in January, 2021 as associate chair of creative business leadership. He bolsters an M.A. program that enhances the value of all undergraduate degrees.

"Creative business leadership is a master's program that fits with every one of our B.A. and B.F.A. programs," Peeler explains. "Undergraduate students should take it seriously if they want to become a manager or leader in their chosen field. An M.A. in creative business leadership will help you advance faster than your peers."

Peeler promotes the efficacy of taking classes in creative business leadership even if a student doesn't envision a career in management. "If you're creative and you want to function in business or start a business, what we teach will help you increase your likelihood of succeeding. You don't need to become a manager, but you need to learn how to work well with people."

Peeler arrived at SCAD following a decade at CNN, where he managed a team of two dozen-plus producers and editors during a period of exponential growth in the network's market share. One key was Peeler's commitment to effective workflow and staffing, as news consumption became increasingly mobile and around-the-clock. He was a persistent, prescient proponent of remote working capabilities and the virtual workplace.

"You have to treat everyone as an individual and meet them on their level. You have to adapt your management style, and how you get along with people," he says.

The son of educators from Gastonia, North Carolina, Peeler sees teaching at SCAD as part of his own prodigal narrative. He is a nonacademic thriving in an educational setting. Students revel in his stories about working in reality television, creating challenges for the hit TV show Survivor, and insights from his longtime friendship with Outer Banks creators Josh and Jonas Pate.

Of the creative business leadership degree track, Peeler considers Influencers and Innovators: Characteristics of Transformative Leadership (LEAD 725) among the most important classes. "We focus on leadership and emotional intelligence," he explains. "We help students become better leaders, and develop their entrepreneurial mindset."

This quarter Peeler is guiding a SCADpro project with Studio Designer, the leading digital project management, sourcing, and accounting platform for the interior design industry. "In order to scale up, Studio Designer is going to need to go global, and determine which territories make the most sense for global expansion," explains Peeler, who will coordinate a team of students from diverse degree programs to meet that challenge.

The SCADpro setting will provide Peeler with the opportunity to introduce more students to the benefits of creative business leadership. He leads, so they can too.

Learn more about creative business leadership at SCAD.

And they're off! Meet Nitro Lux, Iron Byte, and gumptious gremlin Snaxx, as they jostle and bustle up from the slippery sewers through a shimmering metropolis for the title of "Hex Limit" champion.

Following the breakout success last year of award-winning musical short "Bearly", SCAD Animation Studios revs up to present its newest film this Saturday at SCAD AnimationFest 2021. "Hex Limit" was written, developed, and realized by SCAD students in the university's top-ranked animation, dramatic writing, and sound design degree programs.

In advance of their Saturday panel, director Jordan Fleming (B.F.A., animation) and producer Dejanna Price (B.F.A., animation) reflect on how they pushed the 3D world of "Hex Limit" to the max.

Dejanna (DJ) Price: Jordan and I had previously worked together on "Bearly" though we'd only met in person a few times. Working on "Hex Limit" was really when learned about each other and our capabilities and became friends.

Jordan Fleming: Truly inseparable! When we finished "Bearly," professor Warman introduced the concept of the next film being an action comedy. During the summer of 2020, we were able to pitch several ideas, including the idea of a witch delivery service, which became a drag race, which was brainstormed into the city of "Hex Limit." We decided to combine classic fantasy characters like fairies and goblins and a cool, high-tech environment.

Price: Working on "Bearly," I learned so much from Cameron Brown (B.F.A., animation, 2021), so when we started working on "Hex Limit" I felt prepared as a producer. Of course, on "Hex Limit" we were working virtually. To keep everyone active and engaged, we used Zoom, Slack, Discord, and sent text messages — everything we could get our hands on because everyone was all over the world.

Fleming: I'm a story artist, so watching and hearing our different leads communicate and hearing how certain programs work and the coding involved was incredible. A major reason why it went so well was because all the knowledge from students who'd taken different classes in different degree programs brought us to the point of collaborating and using all those skills together.

Price: A lot of work went into making each character unique. The art director and artists built the characters' personalities, then the animators picked up on that and took it home. Starting out, we did walk cycles for the characters, like, considering the character is spunky yet elegant, how does she walk? And ultimately, there's no walking in the film!

Fleming: We had three characters competing in a race. One of our big inspirations was the classic story of “The Tortoise and the Hare.” Then it became how do we put our own twist on it.

Price: I would definitely consider the environment a character too.

Fleming: Absolutely. We kept adding different locations as we kept going deeper into the city. We knew from the get-go it was going to be a challenge, and that meant everyone working on the film had to push themselves beyond what they'd done before. Ultimately, the story of "Hex Limit" is the story of the film's creation: Have a goal and stick to it, don't let outside distractions take you from your path, and you'll accomplish your goal.

SCAD AnimationFest 2021: SCAD Animation Studios Presents 'Hex Limit'

Sat. Sept. 25, 2021, 11 a.m. ET

Get an inside look at Hex Limit, the second film from SCAD Animation Studios. In this not-so-classical broom chase, three characters race through a cyber-fantasy city to win the title of champion. SCAD chair of animation Chris Gallagher guides viewers through the film and SCAD Animation Studios, where SCAD students create and animate movies over a yearlong production cycle in collaboration with faculty and fellow students in dramatic writing, performing arts, sound design, and more — and experience real-world roles before they graduate.

For more information and tickets, visit the SCAD AnimationFest official page.

"That's a really weird duck, Bebe," says a little girl named Heba to her doting grandmother, who is reading a poem about a forgetful waterfowl raised by chickens in a henhouse. "Not so, sweetheart," her grandmother responds. "After all, we are all ducks, living like chickens."

This moment takes place in "The Ocean Duck," a new animated short produced and directed by Huda Razzak (M.F.A., animation, 2021). Inspired by a passage from Rumi's 13th century epic poem the "Masnavi," the film will be explored this week at SCAD AnimationFest 2021, during a panel featuring its creative team.

Still from "The Ocean Duck" (2021)

"I was born and raised in the U.S., aware of my Iraqi cultural heritage, and I have Persian ancestry as well," says Razzak. "I grew up in a household where the poetry of Rumi was part of life." As a young pre-med student in Texas, Razzak found herself inexorably drawn toward the arts, enrolling in SCAD eLearning before moving to Atlanta to attend SCAD in person full time, and "soaking up everything I could learn from the incredible professors and my fellow students."

"The Ocean Duck" mirrors Razzak's own relationship with her grandmother, who was a treasury of family memories before being stricken with dementia. The film slips through time, showing an older Heba at the bedside of the hospitalized matriarch.

"My daughter is actually the voice actor for Heba as a little girl," says Razzak. "I love that I was able to make this film with my daughter about my grandmother, my mom's mom, so that multiple generations of women give it its meaning."

SCAD associate chair of animation Matthew Maloney provides perspective on how the technical facilitates the artistic in Razzak's work: "I watched Huda cross from being a student and a fan of animation to being a transcendent filmmaker with ‘The Ocean Duck'. The film is transcendent because the production team had no allegiances to any one tool. It's something we talk about in class: Whichever tool creates the least obstruction between the idea in their heads and the film itself, use it. As students, they study cutting edge master controller techniques, but first and foremost, they are storytellers."

Razzak's sources of inspiration includes 16th century illuminated manuscripts, particularly regarding planar perspective and "how elements can enter from outside the border, which is a beautiful metaphor for transcending realms, levels of existence, and space and time," she says.

Still from "The Ocean Duck" (2021)

"We ended up exploring a lot of different ways to achieve the vision of the film," Razzak says, shouting out her creative team, including co-director and animation supervisor My Anh Ngô (M.F.A., animation, 2021), who Razzak met in professor Jenna Zona's digital cel animation class. "It's not a traditionally drawn 2D film. The main character Heba as well as the chickens are all rigged, while everyone else is hand-drawn. It made our process more efficient, and enabled us to finish on time."

The very fact that ‘The Ocean Duck' is deeply personal fosters its universal resonance. As Razzak says: "I wanted the film to capture the bittersweetness of losing someone, but I also wanted it to be triumphant."

Huda Razzak

SCAD AnimationFest 2021 Student Showcase Spotlight: 'The Ocean Duck'

Saturday, Sept. 25, Noon ET

Join SCAD associate chair of animation Matthew Maloney as he moderates a conversation with director and producer Huda Razzak (M.F.A., animation, 2021), lead rigging artist Denise Anger (B.F.A., animation, 2020), visual effects lead Ryen Goebel (B.F.A., animation, 2020), co-director and animation supervisor My Anh Ngo (M.F.A., animation, 2021), and composer and sound coordinator Stephanie Hamelin Tomala about the making of ‘The Ocean Duck.'

For more information and tickets, visit the official SCAD AnimationFest page.

It's almost time to Escalate. The SCAD-produced fashion film, directed by Chris Anthony Hamilton, lauds historic changemakers and their legacies. Visitors can experience Escalate Oct. 13, 2021 – April 16, 2022 in the Film Salon of SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta.

The high concept film showcases student and alumni works created for the SCAD Changemakers Alumni Design Challenge. Envisioned by SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace and juried by Academy Award-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter, the challenge invited exceptional alumni from the university’s top-ranked School of Fashion to design futuristic fashions evoking history-changing leaders, inspired by Carter’s iconic work for film.

Escalate features extraordinary garments by challenge finalists, giving flight to a dream-like odyssey in which vital social, cultural, and political figures of the past and present celebrate creative expression, with a vision to a more inclusive future. Garments pay tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Malcolm X, David Bowie, Semiha Berksoy, Fela Kuti, Elaine Brown, and Stokely Carmichael, among others.

SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace said: “Where else but SCAD can you share your work with Academy Award-winning designer Ruth E. Carter and see your designs featured in an exclusive fashion film for the festival circuit? Alumni designers featured in Escalate testify to a powerful truth: SCAD loves and never ceases celebrating, elevating, and advancing the careers of SCAD graduates. We love our Bees, and our Bees love fashion!” 

Filmed on-site at SCAD Atlanta, Escalate demonstrates the imagination, ingenuity, and exceptional talents of students and alumni from SCAD’s globally recognized degree programs in fashion, production design, jewelry, and performing arts. Production credits highlight student and alumni talent across SCAD’s Schools of Entertainment Arts and Digital Media, with many of the film’s performers placed through the SCAD Casting Office, the only professionally run university casting office in the U.S. Vibrating with choreography by celebrated dancer T. Lang and music composed by cellist-songwriter Okorie Johnson (OkCello), Escalate also centers SCAD’s role as a performing arts incubator for the Atlanta creative community.

“Any historical figure, known or unknown, famous or lost in time, is deserving of honest research,” said Carter, who is known for her own in-depth historical research underpinning her design process. “And in that study of humanity, a person reveals their true self. From the Changemakers design challenge to the film and beyond, I am so proud of these SCAD students and alumni. The work of the SCAD community never ceases to amaze me.”

Carter is a longtime champion of SCAD and its students. Building on the designer’s engagement with the university and her personal legacy, SCAD proudly announces the establishment of the Ruth E. Carter Endowed Scholarship to be awarded to a rising star student in the School of Fashion. This endowed scholarship, made possible by Carter, exemplifies her supreme generosity to SCAD students and cements her unwavering support and inspiration for the next generation of creative leaders and changemakers.

“I feel honored and grateful to have my design, which was inspired by the formidable Justice Ginsburg, recognized by Ruth E. Carter,” said Viviane Carvahlo (B.F.A., fashion, 2016), who won the Changemakers Alumni Design Challenge with her garment interpreting the social and cultural impact of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “It is a dream come true to now see my creation come to life in this film.”

Learn more about the Ruth E. Carter Endowed Scholarship.

For more about Escalate, visit SCADFASH.org.

"It was 1981, and I was a young kid sitting in a movie theatre in Bogota, Colombia watching Clash of the Titans," says professor of animation Jaime Castañeda. "That experience made me realize I wanted to tell stories that move people. I knew right then I was going to be an artist."

After Castañeda came to the U.S. to study as an engineer in the 1990s, he found himself increasingly drawn to rapidly evolving field of computer animation. "Technology, art, and mathematics were mixing together to make something brand new," Castañeda says. Combining his engineering skillset and his desire to create, he decided to become a 3D character animator.

Leap forward to January 2021, when Castañeda joined the esteemed SCAD animation faculty, bringing with him over 20 years of industry expertise. His film credits include Alien Resurrection (20th Century Fox, 1997), Fight Club (20th Century Fox, 1999), and Madagascar (DreamWorks, 2005), diverse projects that resonated for certain viewers the way Clash of the Titans once did for Jaime.

"Jaime is a fantastic animator and educator," says SCAD chair of animation Chris Gallagher. "Jaime joining our faculty means we've gained a rock star animator whose work speaks for itself. In terms of providing students with hands-on experience in how animation is getting done right now in the industry, Jaime is the very best."

The SCAD animation department has been named a top program in the U.S. by Animation Career Review and is known for preparing students for high-level careers. Through the use of high-performance digital workstations and state-of-the-art motion capture systems, SCAD offers animation students the same resources they'll use professionally. Recent SCAD graduates now work at Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Pixar, and Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Castañeda emphasizes the importance of the artist in the animation process. "Computer animation is an amazing medium, but you cannot rely on the software to share your message," he says. "The story and the message are what matter most, that's what moves people. That is at the core of what I teach my students."

Early in his career, Castañeda declined an offer from DreamWorks to become a lighter in the pursuit of more robust storytelling opportunities. He credits that decision with his success today and his ability to adapt to new teams and projects. "When you work with different companies you become a better animator," he says. "You avoid specialization and you embrace new challenges. You also get to make connections that will benefit you down the road."

This year, he will be teaching Core Principals of 3D Character Animation (ANIM 253), 3D Character Animation: Performance Through Dialogue (ANIM 383), and 3D Naturalistic Character Animation (ANIM 724).

In addition to the technical aspects of teaching, Castañeda is looking forward to once again connecting with his students. "I love teaching at SCAD," he says. "I encourage my students to learn every aspect of their craft, and not be afraid to take on new challenges. I love the reward of seeing them succeed."

Learn more about animation at SCAD, and get ready for SCAD AnimationFest, Sept-23-25!

"I came to SCAD to help young designers create anything they put their minds to," says professor of industrial design and user experience design Patricia Bell. "There is no limit to what students can accomplish if they have a good idea and the desire to see it through."

Bell, who holds her Master of Sciences in mechanical engineering, returned to Savannah, her childhood home, in early 2021 to teach at SCAD. "I have always been an artist and see myself as a creative on a team of engineers," she says. "At SCAD I can surround myself with creative individuals and give young designers the technical expertise to succeed."

Before coming to SCAD, Bell worked for a decade as a government contractor designing tools to assist first responders coping with medical emergencies. "I developed advanced robotic technology that trains military personnel," Bell says. "My goal was to help the army save lives and bring soldiers home safely."

Bell's work with the military helped her understand the relationship between designer and end user, and the pace at which the industry is changing. "I am going to encourage my students to fully dive into an issue that is meaningful to them," she says. This academic year Bell will helm classes including Manufacturing and Assembly of Innovative Materials (IDUS 314), Prototyping Electronics for Designers (IACT), and Modeling Electronics for Designers (IACT 730). "We are going to spend ten weeks solving problems, understanding how to deliver for a targeted user, and creating a portfolio designed to build future success."

Bell joins a user experience (UX) design program, originally developed in collaboration with Google, that prepares students to engineer experiences that are approachable and meaningful — involving everything from intelligent clothing to automobile interiors. "I want to help my UX students blur the lines between hardware and software," Bell says. "They are going to create solutions that will outreach the digital realm."

Bell will also teach in the industrial design program, where students acquire hands-on experience bringing their ideas to reality, advancing the university's tradition of developing world-class designers.

"SCAD is focused on providing students with the skills to solve problems and the hands-on expertise companies are looking for in up-and-coming designers," Bell explains.

In recent years, SCAD students have worked with some of the most recognizable brands in the world, including BMW, AT&T, Clayco, The Coca-Cola Company, Fisher-Price, Ford Motor Company, and Hewlett-Packard to invent practical solutions to real-world challenges.

"I want to help our students start their own businesses and R&D firms," Bell says. "Our students will be able to leverage their ideas and create physical prototypes that will help launch and sustain their creative careers."

Learn more about industrial design and UX design at SCAD.

When exceptional professionals become university faculty, their industry expertise can have a profound impact in the classroom and beyond. Enter Chi Thien "CT" Nguyen, who in May 2020 joined SCAD as chair of preservation design after a decade at the Boston-based firm Elkus Manfredi Architects.

"I'm here to embrace and develop the vision of the program with new ideas," Nguyen says.

Preservation design is the adaptive reuse of historically significant buildings to meet contemporary and future needs. (SCAD itself practices the highest principles of preservation design, having revitalized nearly 60 historic buildings in Savannah.) As CT explains: "Historically, preservation has been about restoration and conservation in the public sector. What I'm pushing the program towards is ​preservation-minded strategic thinking from within in the private sector. Think of it more as a partnership rather than a divide between the different parties involved in the process. The title I would like our students to have is 'strategist'."

Nguyen points to three exceptional preservation design alumni who graduated in 2021, Paulina León, Kathryn Luu, and Jillian Nadolski (all B.F.A., preservation design, 2021), as strategists who have already entered the field as professionals. He praises SCAD Atlanta alumna Crystal Martin (M.F.A., luxury and fashion management; interior design, 2021), who won the LIV Awards 2020 Interior Design Historic & Heritage student category for a project generated during the class Entrepreneurship for Community Revitalization (PRES 741) with professor Sabrinna Cox.

It's not a coincidence that Nguyen and Elkus Manfredi won LIV Awards 2020 Interior Design Historic & Heritage for their work on the 1920s hotel White Elephant Palm Beach. CT practiced what he preaches. "I tell my students: Trust is the most valuable currency. Whether from an intermediate designer you're working under, or from the principal of the firm, once you get their trust you will go far. Be reliable. Complete the task you've been asked to do. Then complete something extra that shows how creative you are."

Born in Ho Chi Minh City, the son of diplomats, CT came to the U.S. in 2004 at age 16 and began attending a public high school in Washington, D.C. "I didn't speak English. It was a big culture shock." His urgent acquisition of soft skills empowers him, years later, to refute the bogus dichotomy between academic and social-emotional learning. "We want our students to be visionaries, so let's help them be good at selling their ideas. Digital skills and hard skills can be replaced by AI, but what are the emotional human qualities necessary for success? SCAD is ahead of the curve with SCADpro and SCADamp, resources our students can access for free."

In spring 2021, Nguyen led a SCADpro project with one of his industry contacts, tile manufacturer Daltile. Students designed strategies for the company to make an impression with Gen Z. "We created a marketing campaign and a social media campaign and a physical box that will be a gift for the new designers as they enter the field," he explains. And he emphasizes the importance of a SCADamp certification for preservation design students-turned-strategists.

"SCAD preservation design is a unique program," Nguyen says. "We have the opportunity to create something amazing on the horizon."

White Elephant Palm Beach, 2021. See more of the award-winning project here.

Over a 25-year career as a professional equestrian, Ahna Phelps has built a reputation as an exceptional educator, talented trainer, and champion rider. Last year, Phelps made the transition from running her own 15-acre training and breeding ground in Allison Park, PA, to becoming associate chair and professor of equestrian studies at SCAD.

"I came to SCAD because I love teaching horsemanship," says Phelps, who holds her master’s degree in equestrian education. "SCAD has the best equestrian program and facilities in the nation. Our equestrian center is absolutely top notch and operates at the same level of professionalism and care as a private farm."

The Ronald C. Waranch Equestrian Center, home of SCAD’s equestrian studies program, is a 180-acre facility that houses over fifty-five horses and is designed to hold major equestrian events. The grounds include barns, paddocks, pastures, and arenas for competitions. It is also home to the multiple national championship-winning SCAD equestrian team, led by Coach Ashley Henry.

SCAD students working towards a B.A. in equestrian studies explore career paths amid a climate perfectly suited for year-round riding and stable-side education. Through a comprehensive academic program, students are prepared for careers across the spectrum in a $300-billion-a-year global equestrian industry.

"SCAD isn't your traditional equestrian program," Phelps says. "SCAD Bees have so many opportunities to follow their creative dreams. Our students are preparing themselves to be entrepreneurs in the equestrian industry at large. From photographers to marketers to horse clothing designers, SCAD students can choose any number of professional paths."

SCAD Equestrian Programs Eddie Federwisch believes Phelps’ presence strengthens an already peerless program: "Ahna brings great enthusiasm and industry experience to us. I’m extremely pleased she’s here at SCAD as we continue to grow the best program in the nation."

Phelps is looking forward to welcoming students and faculty back to the grounds this fall quarter. She will teach Riding Fundamentals: Stabilization (RIDE 102), Forward Seat Riding Methods (RIDE 201), and Equine Care, Behavior, and Handling (EQST 110). "My years of riding and showing experience are front and center in my teaching," Phelps says. "SCAD students are open, eager, and want to learn. These students are why I made the switch from industry to university."

Phelps’ plans for the future of the growing program include adding horses to the stable and strengthening student’s connections to the equestrian industry nationally. "I want to help students build connections to the industry," Phelps says. "Professionals from high-end competition stables on up to the World Equestrian Center are all going to want to hire SCAD grads."

Learn about earning a degree in equestrian studies at SCAD.