A lemon balances on upturned soles of blue-stockinged feet. Pistachio-colored sneakers encroach upon a forest green checkerboard tablecloth. "I love punchy colors that evoke joy," says Marleah Flajnik (B.F.A., photography, 2022). "If someone sees my photos and smiles, I feel like I've done my job successfully."

Five of Flajnik's photos, each at least three feet high and bursting with narrative possibilities, line the primary hallway of the Graham Scott, home to SCAD's photography department. They include selections from Lighthearted Youth, a series Flajnik created in Digital Imaging and Compositing (PHOT 114), taught by professor Steven Bliss.

"The one with the orange sweatshirt and orange hairclips and orange nail polish, that's me, I took that photo in my dorm room with a self-timer," Flajnik says. "One of my favorite things about my dorm room at the Hive was that the light was tremendous!"

In 2018, Flajnik came to Savannah from her hometown of Warren, Ohio as a self-described "artsy kid" who "discovered a joy I never knew was possible" at SCAD. She began majoring in advertising, and when her father sent her down his old camera ("a Nikon D3200 he got from Sam's Club") she realized her fate was in her own hands. "I was like, photography needs to be my major."

Photography professor Thomas Sanders taught Flajnik in courses including Commercial Lighting Applications: Studio and Location (PHOTO 314). "Marleah developed a quirky, tongue-in-cheek photography style that is identifiable and marketable. As a student, she was willing to grow, be experimental, and was confidentially humble, qualities that all manifest in her work," Sanders says. 

Marleah Flajnik, Lemon, 2023, Digital print, 45 x 36 in.

Since graduation, Flajnik has worked full-time in her chosen field, first as a fashion photographer at Buckle, now as a digital technician at clothing retailer Aerie. Her strong SCAD connection is exemplified by the "amazing full-circle moment" represented by SCAD acquiring her work.

"When I was a student, I'd look at everyone's artworks on the walls for inspiration, it was always so exciting to see," she says. To have her photographs chosen represent SCAD was "one of my big internal goals," and Flajnik gives a shout-out to SCAD Art Sales executive director Amy Keith for initiating the purchase of the images on display in the Graham Scott.

"The Tony's Chocolonely one, that's one of my favorites," Flajnik says, referring to her sweet photo of SCAD track star and industrial design major Shammah Dosunmu chomping on chocolate. While the image seems focused on a single body part, it elides objectification in favor of what Marleah calls "cheekiness."

"I've always enjoyed abstracting the human form, treating it more as a prop," she says. "There's control that you can have with arms or legs or a mouth, where it can tell more of a story. I love incorporating the human body into my work."

SCAD photography department operations manager Jon Horey supervised Flajnik during her time as a student studio monitor in 2021-2022, an experience that Marleah believes "assisted me greatly in my knowledge, problem solving, and skills in photography, and was a major talking point in taking my role at Aerie as digital technician."

"Working with Marleah in our SCAD photography studio was a genuine joy," Horey says. "Her positive spirit brightened every day, and her creative talent always stood out in her beautiful work. It fills me with pride and happiness to see her photography displayed in our new studio building, a true reflection of her hard work, passion, and dedication."

A joyful job well done.

Connect with Marleah Flajnik on LinkedIn. (Portrait by Michael Parente.)

An adopted Korean-American boy attends Catholic school in small-town Pennsylvania, joins the Marines, pivots to pursue performance at Berklee College of Music, then moves to Atlanta to break into the film business, and finally arrives at SCAD. John Varkados (M.F.A., dramatic writing, 2024) has had an unlikely real-life character arc.

"I was living in Atlanta producing an ultra-low budget film in 2019, when I hired a SCAD alum named Simone Thomas," Varkados says. "She had a great reel and was super professional, and I was like, What are they teaching at this place called SCAD?"

The ex-Marine knew he had his own stories to tell. When he decided to enroll in SCAD's dramatic writing program, the discipline he had acquired in the Corps became "a foundation for all my creative endeavors, where you need that sense of grit and perseverance."

The result is "Dog Tags."

Initially scripted as a short film "about all these veterans in a therapy session," the story found its full form in a course with SCAD dramatic writing professor Greg DePaul. "I was able to write a three-act dramatic feature and leave SCAD with "Dog Tags" as a complete screenplay," John says.

DePaul, an accomplished Hollywood screenwriter ("Bride Wars," "Saving Silverman"), calls Varkados "a talented writer who pulls from the heart." "John draws from his background and knowledge of human nature to create living, breathing characters," DePaul says. "His work excels on the page as it will on the screen."

"Dog Tags" was named a quarterfinalist in Final Draft's 2025 Big Break Competition. Varkados is also a Webby Award Winner, and a quarterfinalist in the Writers Guild Foundation's 2025-26 Veterans Writing Project. His grit is earning recognition. "The writing always seems to shine through," he says.

Chair of dramatic writing Averie Storck taught John in Beyond the Page: Improvisation for Writers (DWRI 710), a course where Varkados says he developed key relationships with students from "different groups, different eras."

"One of John's greatest strengths is his willingness to take creative risks," offers Storck. "In my class, students develop characters, explore narratives, and generate ideas. From day one, John was all in. He embraced the unpredictable nature of improv, and his energy was contagious. What really stood out was how he always showed up for his peers with encouragement and support, helping create an environment where everyone felt free to take creative leaps."

For his part, John says he has kept all his notes from Storck's improv class: "I can pull them back up, because that's where I might find my new pilot idea."

In a time of industry upheaval, the dramatic writer keeps working. His day job as a business analyst at Pinterest means building strategies for business owners on the popular platform. Meanwhile, he is growing his Substack by publishing chapters of his fiction serial Hymns of Harvest. "Dog Tags" is being read by producers. Next steps are yet to come.  

"You have to make your own path of success, and it's not as streamlined as it used to be," Varkados says. "That makes it all the more fun."

Profilin': Varkados shines at the Webby Awards.

"I'm fascinated by the light in between the trees," artist Michi Meko said from the stage of the SCAD Museum of Art. "That light is where I find inspiration."

To enter Meko's new SCAD MOA exhibition, So Black and So Blue, gallery-goers walk into a light that at first seems like darkness, through freighted wrought iron gates, into the cool interior of the gallery. There, his paintings project astonishing, pelagic power.

"For me, the entryway creates space for the viewers," Meko explained during his packed-house artist talk with chief curator Dr. Daniel S. Palmer.  "I was thinking about the Door of No Return in Ghana, where they took the ancestors. This museum space creates a point of return, a moment of calm. It's not the start of an arduous journey. I'm instantly trying to put you at peace."

Black thought: entering Meko's show. Photo: Apollo Hamwey.

Alabama-born, Atlanta-based Meko is a former/forever graffiti writer known for activating spray paint and found objects to create layered compositions. For So Black and So Blue, the recipient of the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant drew inspiration from Louis Armstrong's jazz classic “(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue,” author Imani Perry’s vivid 2025 book Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People, and the late great Wu-Tang rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard ("there's no father to his style").

"I try to push my paint. If there is a mark that needs to be made, I just make the mark," Meko said.

To be sure, the paintings are big. Their grandeur suits their gilded frames. What's extraordinary is the amount of light contained within the darkness of the gallery, and the darker tones of the paint itself.

"These colors relate to Black culture and they always existed within Black culture and we did not know or self-consciously we did," Meko said. "I grew up in a bedroom that was this baby blue. Think about your Southern porch, the haint blue painted on top comes out of African culture. So, I set restrictions upon myself and within those restrictions, that confinement, it forces you to understand your palette."

The energy from the artist talk came from Meko and Palmer's exchange of ideas, and it came from the painting and art history and graphic design students who filled the auditorium and who challenged Meko with questions about selling out and the symbolism of fishing. The artist basked: "I can still take that rebel punk rock side of myself and put it in a museum. I'm bombing the wall. This is my way to smudge Savannah."

Michi came across like a loosey goosey dude in a monster truck tee, flipped-brim cap and Vans with no socks. But make no mistake: this is a vital artist who has worked hard to become, as Palmer put it, "a leading voice in contemporary painting."

As he walked off the SCAD MOA stage, Meko slowed and emphatically turned toward the students. He addressed them directly: "Please take advantage of your professors. Please take advantage of your facilities. Please miss the biggest party of the year to go to your studio. The way that you work now will determine the way that you work as a professional. Please work on your discipline now."

Michi Meko, So Black and So Blue, on view through Jan. 4, 2026.

On a sweltering evening in July, a group of students gathered in Daffin Park on bicycles, ready for a seven-mile southbound pedal of the Truman Linear Trail to Lake Mayer. "Remember, this is a multi-use trail, not a bicycle superhighway," said architecture professor Ryan Madson. "It's intended for all mobilities, open to everyone."

Roll call: SCAD SERVE students pedal Savannah's Truman Linear Trail.

The ride was a form of research, and the righteous rollout for a SCAD SERVE summer course. Eleven students from degree programs including architecture, interior design, graphic design, and illustration collaborated to create a package of signage honoring local Savannah history and optimizing the experience of the Tide to Town Trail. "What we're doing is real, not theoretical, and our emphasis is on using design for good," said Paiten Prescott (B.F.A., graphic design).

Weeks of research and ideation produced diagrammatic vector sketches and designs for pole wraps. There were discussions of how CNC-cut metal signs could affix to preexisting stanchions, and the potential for a mural beside Tapley's Antique Mall on Waters Ave. "More than designing signs, we are connecting a community corridor," pointed out Olivia Jurado (B.F.A., architecture).

Signs of the times: Professor Ryan Madson (left) with students Ethan Davis, Paiten Prescott, and Suksheetha Adulla.

At a mid-quarter meeting in Deloitte Foundry, students engaged with city reps including 4th District Alderman Nick Palumbo. "Our wayfinding packages are inspired by the Colors of Savannah by Sherwin-Williams, a SCADpro project," explained Ethan Davis (M.Arch). The alderman lit up when he saw how the 125-plus-year history of Montgomery Crossroads would be integrated into the signage. "You have captured what the Southside has been trying to say for a generation," Palumbo said.

Five weeks flew by. Summer began its slow fade. The group convened in Deloitte for a final presentation to local luminaries. Megan Rigsby (B.F.A., interior design) began: "Our focus this summer was on trailhead design, a wayfinding package, historical research, and overall branding for the Tide to Town initiative. Safety, connection, community — this is what Tide to Town is all about, and Montgomery Crossroads is an important link in this initiative."

Talk of the town: Megan Rigsby get the final presentation rolling.

The presentation focused on case study locals Henry, Taylor, and the Nguyen family, who all had different yet connected reasons to be on the trail. It was a masterclass in concision and storytelling.

Savannah-Chatham County Public School System Board of Education member Denise Grabowski observed, "Thirty of our schools are within a quarter to a half mile of the trail. What you've done here is give so many young people, families, and citizens of all ages a reason to get out onto the trail, and to enjoy being there."

What began on that first evening bike ride to Lake Mayer had succeeded. As City of Savannah transportation coordinator Harold Taylor said: "This is the future of Savannah."

School's in: Savannah-Chatham County Public School Board President Roger Moss discusses wayfinding with Suksheetha Adulla and Khue Tran.

Special thanks to everyone who attended the final presentation and those who offered advice and encouragement along the way. And to the superb students who took part in Design For Good 560: SCAD SERVE x TIDE TO TOWN SAVANNAH 2025:
 
Suksheetha Adulla (M.Arch)
Ethan Davis (M.Arch)
Sophia Haggerty (B.F.A. interior design)
Emily Hoedl (B.F.A. architecture)
Olivia Jurado (B.F.A. architecture)
Katie Luck (B.F.A. interior design)
Aranza Perez Ares Salas (B.F.A. interior design)
Paiten Prescott (B.F.A. graphic design)
Megan Rigsby (B.F.A. interior design)
Valeria Torres Parada (B.F.A. interior design)
Khue Tran (B.F.A. illustration)

"I aim to lift artists up," says Mark Biletnikoff (M.A., creative business leadership, 2014; M.A., preservation design, 2020). "Where there's a creative spark, that's my focus, and that means empowering people regardless of their status or fame."

Speaking with the painter, curator, and community organizer is a master class unto itself. Biletnikoff flows from discussing a ten-foot curvilinear abstract canvas he's just completed to reframing the popular notion of work-life balance as his own personal "work-art balance."

Currently, the Louisiana native is curating an open call for a show at the Manship Theatre at the Shaw Center for the Arts in Baton Rouge in 2026. Called One Light, the exhibition embraces artists across all disciplines and backgrounds, emphasizing an authentic definition of what inclusivity truly means.
 
Mark Biletnikoff:

"I live in Baton Rouge, where I run an artist studio complex called N the Art Space. In May, we celebrated 20 years for the space. For me, the dynamic of curating different people's artworks and seeing their evolution has led me to this portion of my journey. Providing support and encouragement are always major factors in what I do.

Recently, the Mall of Louisiana had an open storefront. It was a Forever 21 that had just closed. A massive two-level store with tons of windows, and instead of blacking it out or putting up advertising, they called me, asking 'Any chance you can fill this with art?' A week later I have 14 artists showing their work there, across all different types of media, including a tattoo artist. That's the kind of thing that makes me feel alive.

I studied painting at Southeastern Louisiana University, and after I finished undergrad, I knew I wanted to earn a master's degree at a high-caliber school where I'd make a difference. I chose to study arts administration at SCAD because, at the time, I was in the process of founding a state-run Cultural District here in Baton Rouge, which offers tax breaks and incentives for artists, and networking and educational opportunities. It fit perfectly.

Eventually, through SCADnow online, I earned my second master's degree, in preservation design. I tied my two SCAD degrees in with what I've done here in Baton Rouge over the past 20 years. Everything is coming together now as One Light.

One Light aims to promote accessibility for all creatives. The concept emphasizes that when we create, our creative energy is unified. From many individual expressions, we become "One Light." The title also underscores the idea that each artist is unique, with their own way of translating and sharing that light, fostering a sense of unity and diversity within the creative community.

We launched the open call for One Light on August 1st with an application fee of $45. The open call will go through December 31st, and then we'll review the submissions and make a final selection. One of the jurors is Denise Plauché (M.F.A., illustration, 2014), who's currently the model coordinator at SCAD Atlanta. I look forward to seeing how the jurors' selections will shape the final exhibition.

My SCAD experience remains a source of inspiration. I get stopped at gas stations and in parking lots because I have the SCAD alumni sticker in my window. I'm happy to put on my pompoms and speak highly of it as a place that supercharges creative aspirations. The clout that comes from a SCAD degree means a lot."

Learn more about One Light and connect with Mark Biletnikoff on LinkedIn.

Sydnei Berry can kick it — and she's got the sneakers to prove it.

On a muggy summer morning in Boston, Berry (M.F.A., illustration, 2024) sits in her apartment across the street from New Balance's global headquarters, where she recently completed a yearlong apprenticeship as a lifestyle footwear designer. "When you're making a shoe, anticipate the needs of the person who'll wear it," she says, nodding from experience.

The cool, colorful footwear Berry worked on at New Balance is currently flying off the shelves at Foot Locker, part of a growing global sneaker industry that exceeds $80 billion in annual sales. The Men's 2002R in pastel blue and green, the Women's 530 in blue and white, and grade-school, preschool, and toddler editions all bear Sydnei's color choices. "By creating colorways, you curate different personalities, using color to translate and pop out and add definition to the sneaker," she says.

Let it pop: the New Balance 2002R, colorways by Sydnei Berry. Image courtesy New Balance.

Berry's New Balance sneakers will continue to hit market through 2026, and while her apprenticeship's conclusion is a moment for reflection, Syd serves her backstory with unabashed exuberance. 

It was in 2022, while walking to SCAD House in Atlanta, that she saw a poster announcing a new degree program at SCAD: sneaker design.

"I was like, Oh, I want to try sneaker design from an illustrator's point of view! I spoke with [sneaker design professor] Q Williams, showed him I'm proficient in Illustrator, Photoshop, and Procreate, and he equipped me with a VR headset and got me up to speed."

When Berry arrived for day one of Digital Sneaker Design: VR to 3D Prototype (SNKR 475), she was, she says, "taking it just for fun." Williams believed she had the potential to transform the discipline.

"Sydnei was a unicorn," Q says. "SNKR 475 was made up of an even split between industrial design students and fashion students, and Sydnei coming in as an illustration student meant she brought organic forms in her own design language. Her ability to maximize her potential in sneaker design opened up a world of possibility."

Berry's coursework combined the avant-garde and the highly practical. Mention the chunky-soled hiking sneaker she designed called Gnawing Gnasher, and Berry beams: "If an animal sees you before you see it, but they only see your feet, what message are your shoes sending?" She attributes her integrated approach to Williams: "Q encourages you to be extremely imaginative, and then he'll ask, How would we go about actually making this shoe?"

Animal logic: Gnawing Gnasher boot designed by Sydnei Berry. Copyright Sydnei Berry.

Getting grounded in materials was a process for the Augusta, Ga. native who describes her own work as "extravagant" and "exploratory."

"Coming to SCAD in 2021 for my graduate studies, I wanted to segue into fashion while still working with illustration," Berry says. "I learned that what I wanted to do is called surface design. It means adding illustrations — hand-painted, screen-printed, or done digitally — onto everything from children's toys to a rococo corset to sneakers. We're essentially storytellers and can go into whichever avenue we want to take."

Professor Phivi Spyridonos taught Berry in courses including Illustration Markets (ILLU 735) and Directed Projects for Illustration (ILLU 742) and inculcated an appreciation for the limitless potential of surface design. "Sydnei built entire narratives — layered, personal, and visually striking — through her sneaker designs and illustrations, and her ability to merge concept and design with meaning was truly exceptional," Spyridonos says. "Plus, her kindness and positivity made her really stand out."

That compelling combo — call it Syditude — kicked in as Berry completed her master's degree and saw the LinkedIn listing for the New Balance apprenticeship. "I applied with a link to my portfolio, which was something my SCAD professors drilled into me — keep your website updated at all times, you never know who's looking!"

New Balance contacted her for an interview, and "I walked them through the shoes that I'd worked on at SCAD, and they saw I knew how to work with tech packs." An ensuing conversation with New Balance VP of Lifestyle Brad Lacey led to an offer of a one-year apprenticeship in Boston.

"New Balance immersed me in their work environment right away, in meetings with designers, working hands-on on the same projects," Berry says. She calls the New Balance workplace "communal" and mentions NB Gives Back, as well as company viewing parties for the 2024 Olympics, and her own adventures exploring Boston, a city new to her. "I went kayaking on the Charles!"

Contemplating what's next, putting her best sneaker-wearing foot forward, Syd smiles and sends a "big shout-out to SCAD!" Her sneaker design professor Q Williams says it best: "Sydnei is fearless, boundless, and knows how to adapt and get her vision across. She makes it happen."

Connect with Sydnei Berry on LinkedIn!

"There is creativity and joy to be found in doing even the most menial task," says Chicago-based art director and copywriter David Harris (B.F.A. graphic design, 2018; B.F.A. advertising, 2018).

During an hourlong conversation, having discussed his major projects for clients in financial services (Capital One), digital literacy (Chicago Public Library), and salted caramel pretzel ice cream (Blue Bunny), Harris hits his core. "The key is to jump into the work, and you'll see it in a whole new way."

Jumping in is David's thing. Over the past decade he has created a deeply impressive work portfolio. "I've been with a large agency, small agency, in-house, remote, corporate, and non-profit," explains the current senior art director at High Wide & Handsome. "This increases my adaptability and allows me to see how resilient I can be. That can mean responding to a difficult critique in round eleven of something you've been working on forever. Sometimes it's just flowing through workflow."

We all scream: FCB Chicago launched Blue Bunny's first fully integrated campaign featuring its mascot Blu the bunny, with Harris as associate art director and copywriter. Result: 1.7. billion media impressions.

The 29-year-old's commitment makes him an exemplary SCAD alum. It's no wonder he was present as SCAD accelerated from being a cool school to a global brand in arts education.

"Watching SCAD grow has been awesome," Harris says with a smile. "I remember my sister saying, ‘Oh, on Pretty Little Liars one of the students is going to SCAD Atlanta now!'

"Really, it's about SCAD creating opportunities for students," he continues. "My junior year, I volunteered with SCAD SERVE as digital marketing director, working with Habitat for Humanity — that experience heightened what was already a transformative time for me."

"David is a bright light and a fount of positivity," says SCADamp communications coach Arlene Distel, who previously taught Harris in advertising and marketing classes. "When he learned that I had switched after fourteen years from being a SCAD professor to being a SCADamp coach, he was genuinely enthusiastic about my new role. He wanted to hear about how I help students present their creative ideas to the world with confidence. He exemplifies proactive professional communication."

This chimes with Harris's own mentorship of junior art directors and designers, and his dedication to purpose-driven projects, including design work with Rescue Agency and the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. "Knowing that the hours you put in produce results is something I'm proud of. These are life-changing resources for people," he says. David credits graphic design professor Jane Zash with instilling in him the principle that "as designers, we use our creativity to try to make the world a better place."

A native of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Harris currently volunteers with the Virginia Beach Arts & Humanities Commission assessing grant applications. "From SCAD I gained the need to see what people are making in all parts of the world. Every time I return to Virginia Beach, I re-engage with the arts community in my hometown." Giving back and paying it forward are synonymous, he feels. "I care about art students. I want to see the arts flourish." He will continue to jump in and meet the challenge.

As the conversation winds up, Harris thanks SCAD for keeping in touch. Good guy. Arlene Distel states it clearly: "David is a natural."

Sweet work: Harris served as art director with Ferrara's in-house agency 1908X, overseeing the Trolli Sour Gummi Worms x Halo packaging design project. Assets for the Trolli x Halo Infinite video game release included this Trolli Xbox console skin.

Connect with David Harris on LinkedIn!

Drop the outdated dongle and expired earbuds and decouple all devices — it's time to booty-scoot to SCAD MOA for the final week of Corrina Goutos's exhibition Bivalves no Booty in the Alumni Gallery.
 
Future-forger Goutos (b. 1991, New York; B.F.A. jewelry, 2013) fuses fragments of mass-produced objects with raw natural materials to create unusual, conceptual, and often wearable artworks that resemble fossils from the future. In other words, old tech gets smashed, bashed, and put back together as uncanny, ugly-beautiful, even humorous artworks that upend notions of "raw" and "processed."
 
"How can I be a master of a material when that material is already a collage of so many stories and timelines?" Goutos asked, rhetorically and earnestly, during a gallery talk back in March with curator Brittany Richmond. "I created the concept of 'anthrosmithing.' Instead of being a goldsmith or blacksmith, I am a smith of the raw material of today, which is not raw, but an already-processed object."
 
Through "anthrosmithing," Goutos releases outdated tech from obsolescence, giving it new life that highlights how wearables shape identity. Bivalves no Booty features two series, Vestigial Trait Bait and the most recent BlossomVerse, which explore the tension between individuality and interconnectedness in our consumer-driven society.
 
In Vestigial Trait Bait, ancient shells merge with industrial hardware to create relics that blend the history of adornment with the concept of evolutionary appendages, reflecting on how technology has become an extension of the self. "I was inspired by the etymology, the word origins of 'shell' and 'skill' — they share the exact same paths," Goutos said.
 
In The BlossomVerse, the artist reconfigures porcelain shards and electronic waste into distorted artifacts that challenge capitalist ideals of perfection and subvert the corporate design trend of biomimicry. "It developed out of my trying to be more of a listener to the material and less [about] imposing my aesthetic onto neutral material," the artist explained, standing in front of a wall adorned with an original digital collage. "I tried to create a methodology for inviting more entropy into my process. I actually smashed a lot of porcelain figures."
 
Through these hybrid works, Goutos subverts sentimental attachments to technology and the choices consumers make via corporate coercion to discard or preserve, revealing how objects carry and transmit meaning over time like placeholders. A certain brand has certain connotations for an individual. "Nokia will be triggering, like, oh, the Nineties, my first phone!"
 
Thus, Goutos creates new totems of self-expression that evoke nostalgia and belonging. Technological remnants are fused with geological remains that embrace the uncanny beauty of growth, decay, and metamorphosis.
 
"In Bivalves no Booty my receptive touch dismantles anthropocentric notions of fixed thingdom; story-telling the two-way exchange of imprints, while jump-starting an industrial rewilding process," the artist explained.
 
The exhibition-opening gallery talk in the spring featured detailed questions from SCAD jewelry students, all of whom have their own relationship to technology — and to the totemic tchotchkes that this alum has transformed into art. "I create that value by giving it reverence," Goutos said.
 
"I really appreciate how much thought you put into all these pieces," curator Richmond told the artist. "That's why when you look at these objects, they're so powerful."

See Bivalves No Booty at the SCAD Museum of Art!

"Lots of submissions for this category, guys!"

It's a Monday night in Hamilton Hall Room 113, and the Spring 2025 SCAD Student Recording Competition is in full swing. Empty pizza boxes are stacked outside the door. A dozen students sprawl on Persian rugs beneath the studio's playback speakers.

SCAD Audio Engineering Society chair Hayden Blocker beckons for a drum roll: "And the winner of best ‘Modern Studio/Electronics' recording is…Andreas Asimakopoulos!"

From the control room, sound design professor Jamie Baker plays back the winning tune: a harmony drenched, pop hit-in-waiting called ‘One Last Time'. The AES clubbers move to the groove. One student pumps his fists. "It's got that Bleachers/Jack Antonoff vibe!" raves Dylan Ramras (B.F.A., sound design). "Great job man, great song!"

"I wasn't expecting that response, or to win, but it was really great," Asimakopoulos (M.F.A. sound design, 2025) says the next day, sipping a Vitaminwater inside the TAD Café. "That's one of the five songs I've written and recorded as my master's thesis, a half-album I'll be posting online."

A native of Soldotna, Alaska, Andreas grew up playing Beatles songs on acoustic guitar, studied film at Whitman in Walla Walla, then followed his older brothers to Atlanta, where he began working as an audio engineer at a studio called Loud House, "mostly on rap projects." He soon heard about SCAD, and came to Savannah to pursue his master's degree.

"Andreas is easygoing and confident, with a strong background in creating original music and working in studios," says Baker, who taught him in ADR and Foley Mixing (SNDS 734). "He makes an excellent role model for our music production and music composition students."

Asimakopoulos mentions additional courses pivotal to his development, including Electronic Music Production (SNDS 764) with Ian Vargo, "a professor with really deep knowledge of music production and mixing who has helped me conceptualize what I'm going for."

"Andreas is such a gifted songwriter and musician, and he truly puts in the work," says Vargo. "After listening to early drafts of his productions and offering a few suggestions, Andreas returned with the notes perfectly implemented. He felt like a collaborator as much as he did a student."

"I tried to make ‘One Last Time' have the most Eighties-sounding drums I could," Andreas says, referencing Def Leppard's 1987 album Hysteria and its lavish kicks and snares. He also mentions Tame Impala, whose jams helped him realize "it's possible to fully produce [my music] myself in Ableton Live, and have it sound authentic."

Final mixes complete, Andreas plans to release his tunes via streaming platforms, most likely under the name Orpheus's Brother (a nod to his big brother Bos's band, Orpheus & the Animal). With Avid certifications including Pro Tools Post and Pro Tools Dolby Atmos, he sees a galaxy of possibility after graduation. "I'd like to work in post-production for film and TV. I'll be making my own music, too."

Asked for a final word on his thesis, the AES award-winner waits a beat, then hits the high note:

"I mean, whatever benefits the song is the best thing, right?"

Andreas Asimakopoulos (right) with SCAD AES chapter chair Hayden Blocker.

Banner photo by Jonathan Sage. Portrait of student within artist Jónsi's exhibition Vox at SCAD MOA.

Olivia Tanzy digs bugs and figs.

The evidence was on display on a recent Friday evening during Jewelry Open Studio in Fahm Hall. As families and friends frolicked and "Pink Pony Club" pumped from a portable speaker, Tanzy (B.F.A. jewelry, 2025) stood at her display, ready to speak with curious passerby about her senior collection 'Figments of Choice'.

"I was inspired by Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, the symbol of the fig tree and how overwhelming decision-making can feel in your twenties," Tanzy said. She gestured to a handmade baroque pearl necklace ("the piece that sparked my entire collection") and a complementary 24K gold-plated bracelet: "There's a ceramic fig in the middle and metal figs surrounding it, and a little ant made from solder and wire."

It was impossible not to be wowed by the skill required to turn a literary metaphor into a collection of jewelry. Also notable was Tanzy's steadfast presence — what professor Lanelle Keyes, who taught her in courses including Adornment, Identity, and Power of Jewelry (JEWL 280), calls "a quiet determination that draws people in."

A few days later, sitting in a relaxed setting outside Foxtail Coffee, Tanzy traced her arc from high school at Mount Pisgah Christian in Johns Creek, Georgia to completing a formidable and rigorous degree program in Savannah. "Originally I wanted to go to art school so that I could work with my hands and not be in front of a computer screen all day," she says. "When I got to SCAD, I thought I'd study performing arts or graphic design, then I took Intro to Jewelry: Materials and Processes and my mind was blown that I could have an idea and then physically make it in front of me."

Ripe on time: selections from 'Figments of Choice'.

Plath's fig tree analogy has been the subject of hothouse online discourse — not to mention the entire industry built around the author and her sole novel, published in 1963. When asked if she identifies with The Bell Jar's main character, the intelligent, indecisive student Esther Greenwood, Tanzy nods: "To read that portrayal of anxiety in a coming-of-age story — as a woman it's nice to know you're not alone in these feelings of having to be perfect while grappling with your sense of yourself. At the same time, I was struggling with so many options for what I wanted my senior collection to be." Then kismet hit.

"One day I was with my mom on Tybee enjoying a little beach weekend and we went to the grocery store, and they were selling fig trees. I was like, Here it is. I have to do this now."

Transmuting Plath's symbolic fig tree into tangible jewelry meant long hours at a work bench iterating with materials, designing in Rhino and Nomad Sculpt, and incorporating critical feedback from faculty. "Olivia steadily honed her vision as she became increasingly focused and intentional in her work," remarks Keyes. "No matter the challenge, she met it with grace and a sense of purpose."

Chair of jewelry Jay Song guided 'Figments of Choice' in Collection 1: Research and Development (JEWL 400) and Collection 2: Design and Production (JEWL 460), even bringing in leaves from her own fig tree for Tanzy to examine. "Olivia's thorough research and sensitivity in developing her design process — including initial concept exploration, market research, visual presentation board, and material samples — were all exceptionally well-executed," Song says. "Her creative vision is whimsical yet multisensory, aligning with the expectations of the fine jewelry industry, and the diverse techniques she employed mean her final outcomes reflect her unique perspective."

Tellingly, Tanzy emphasizes the challenges along the way. "When making these ceramics, some of them failed miserably," she recalls. "Like, okay, that's a rotten fig, we're going to try again…until I made one that was ripe and perfect and gave me the exact color and emotion that I wanted. When I was choosing glazes for the ceramics, I mixed colors, like a darker red and then I'd take my sponge and do a lighter red on top of it, and play around, try the opposite. For my stones, I felt I needed to use natural stones since this is a nature-inspired collection, so I chose garnets, I love that deep red, and rhodolite garnets with pink in them."

All the work finally paid off. The finished collection is a classic. This summer, Tanzy will begin a new job working at Ringcrush, the Atlanta-based business owned by alum Bailey Christenbury (M.A. jewelry, 2014; B.F.A. sculpture, 2011). Before that, she will be selling her own new pieces at the 25th Anniversary SCAD Jewelry Trunk Show this Thursday, May 8 and Friday, May 9 in Poetter Hall.

"One of the most amazing parts about SCAD is the networking opportunity at these events, and the chance to share my work with people and have a moment discussing my inspiration," she says.

So, with her SCAD career nearly complete, does she feel like she made the right choice?

Tanzy responds with a smile. "I finally found my fig."

Follow @oliviamakesjewelry and connect with Tanzy on Linkedin!

Collection photographed by Jenna Mitsdarfer.