Each year, President Paula Wallace awards deserving SCAD professors with Presidential Fellowships for Faculty Development to facilitate specific research projects. The program supplements opportunities for travel, conference support, sabbatical grants and professional advancement. SCAD spoke with Robin B. Williams, chair of the architectural history department, about his recent Presidential Fellowship experience exploring the history of pavement.

SCAD: Your SCAD Presidential Fellowship was awarded for “Researching the Local Identities of Historic Pavement: Midwest and West Coast.” Tell us about the project.

ROBIN WILLIAMS: The focus of the grant — to research pavement in cities on the West Coast and the Midwest — is part of my larger research project on historic street and sidewalk pavement in cities across North America. It builds on my research of Savannah street pavement, which I published a journal article on in 2013. I wanted to expand my scope, since no other architectural or urban historians were investigating this topic at that level.

SCAD: How will the fellowship influence your work as an educator at SCAD?

WILLIAMS: The fellowship allows me to visit more cities, where I document existing historic pavement and visit archives to research historic documents. The archival research directly supports my ability to teach the “Research Methods in Architectural History” class. The experience of visiting multiple cities builds my firsthand familiarity with their pavement settings, buildings, streetscapes and transportation systems. This helps me provide a fuller understanding of those places in the classes I teach, which focus on modern architecture in Europe and North America.

SCAD: What’s the most inspiring thing you experienced this summer?

WILLIAMS: Discovering something new and unexpected in each city, be it out in the city or among documents in archives. Like the small three-inch diameter iron rings embedded into curbs across Portland, Oregon, which were installed to lash horses to the curb. I’ve never seen such rings in any other city. They’re preserved in great numbers in Portland, and citizens there are proud of them. It reinforced my belief that the physical materials that make up the streetscapes play an important role in defining local identity.

For more information visit: www.historicpavement.com

Check back soon for more SCADworks interviews with SCAD Presidential Fellowship recipients.

Each year, President Paula Wallace awards deserving SCAD professors with Presidential Fellowships for Faculty Development to facilitate specific research projects. The program supplements opportunities for travel, conference support, sabbatical grants and professional advancement. SCAD spoke with English professor Kate Newell about her Summer 2017 Presidential Fellowship experience investigating literary tours.

SCAD: Your SCAD Presidential Fellowship was for a project entitled "Adaptation, Place, and the Construction of the Literary." Why did you choose this subject?

KATE NEWELL: I'm always thinking about how practices of adaptation shape our reception of media and experience. This project focused on literary tours and tourism. I visited several cities — London, Devon, Paris, and New York among them — and participated in tours that focused on specific writers, books, or groups of writers. I was especially interested in how tours tell the story of a particular writer or group of writers, how tours help participants better imagine historical and fictional settings, and which details tour guides highlight as representative or important.

SCAD: How will the fellowship influence your work as a SCAD educator?

NEWELL: The tours that I selected cover writers and works I teach in my SCAD classes. For example, the fellowship provided me with additional material to share with students in a course called "Art in Adaptation." This course examines adaptation as it manifests across different media and modes of expression. Interactive and user-motivated adaptation are part of everyday life and essential to SCAD programs like themed entertainment design and user experience (UX) design. In presenting a place-based view of a writer's life or approaching a literary work from a user-oriented perspective, I am able to help students access material in innovative ways that complement their reading and research.

SCAD: What's the most inspiring thing you experienced this summer?

NEWELL: I was inspired by many of the tour guides I met. Their enthusiasm and passion for their material and for storytelling was evident across the board. I was also inspired by the places I was able to visit, particularly Dartmoor, the southern Devon moorland where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle set "The Hound of the Baskervilles," Paris' Left Bank where Hemingway and Fitzgerald met, and Manhattan's West Village. The diversity of environment, architecture, and people — the whole experience — so far exceeded my expectations that I don't know that I could select just one!

Check back soon for more SCADworks interviews with SCAD Presidential Fellowship recipients.

SCAD has won the prestigious "Game of the Year – Virtual Reality" award from The Rookies, an international program of recognition  for young designers, creators, innovators, and artists. The Rookies is renowned for discovering and showcasing outstanding talent emerging from higher education facilities and helping to launch them into careers at the world's top studios.

SCAD's winning entry "Centauri" is a virtual reality (VR) adventure where the first-person player is sent to an alien planet to find the salvage of a lifetime. The game was created by a 14-person team of SCAD students headed by lead programmer Victor Burgos (B.F.A., interactive design and game development, 2017) and lead artist Travis Sindewald (B.F.A., interactive design and game development, 2017).

"On top of the world, what a monumental place for our interactive design and game development program to be!" said SCAD president and founder Paula Wallace. "This award by The Rookies is testament to the technologically-advanced career preparation that occurs at SCAD, further proof of what we hear every year from the biggest names when they come to recruit our students. SCAD students are real-world ready."

SCAD offers one of the first and most celebrated interactive design and game development programs in the U.S. Students of the discipline have access to advanced resources and the latest technologies, including a full motion capture lab, green screen studios and Wacom Cintiq displays. The SCAD interactive design and game development is part of the SCAD school of digital media, led by Dean Marilynn "Max" Almy.

In addition, Rookie of the Year Runner Up was awarded to SCAD alumnus Carl Vitasa (B.F.A., interactive game design and game development, 2017) whose project "Dialect Effect: A Tale of Two Tongs" is an immersive Chinese language and culture learning simulation that relies on new voice recognition technology, authentic environments, and engaging animated NPCs to teach a semester of entry-level Mandarin.

Previously, SCAD was named "Best Motion Graphics School" by The Rookies in the 2017 official rankings of The Best Creative Schools in the World.

The Rookies awards are based on over 8,725 entrants from more than 600 universities internationally. Awards were determined by a judging panel that included Joe Letteri, Academy Award winner for Best Visual Effects in two "Lord of the Rings" movies, "Avatar" and "King Kong." Criteria for The Rookies includes creative skills, technical skills, presentation, variety of skills, raw talent and employment potential.

"The great honor of my life is sharing in these defining moments with you," announced SCAD president and founder Paula Wallace to the 2017 graduating class of SCAD Hong Kong. "I can say with absolute certainty: All of you are career ready."

Set in the heart of the Sham Shui Po district, SCAD Hong Kong offers the largest concentration of art and design degree programs in Asia's world city. A fusion of ancient heritage and high-tech resources inspires students from around the globe who study in the former North Kowloon Magistracy building, a grand courthouse revitalized by SCAD to include a library, digital labs and studios, darkrooms, a green screen studio, and sound design and editing suites.

For commencement, the Diamond Ballroom of the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong shone with accessible opulence as SCAD families came to celebrate their Bees’ big day. The conferment of degrees was followed by a reception in the hotel's three-level foyer.

Here are five memorable remarks from the Hong Kong edition of SCAD commencement 2017:

1. SCAD alumna Sofia Borromeo (B.F.A. fashion, 2010; M.A. luxury and fashion management, 2014):
"With your SCAD degree, anything is possible. Just think, I was once where you are now. After graduating, I now have my own fashion label, my own company, and the consummation of my vision. Keep this in mind as you go out into the professional world."

2. Valedictorian Mohini Khadaria (B.F.A. advertising, 2017):
"From all the early experience that shaped who I've become, I have found my final year to be the most gratifying of all. We have all forged connections that, though they may have been sparked by chance, grew into friendships that will last long after we walk out those doors today, from the final pages of our SCAD story in Hong Kong and into the new chapters around the globe."

3. Excelsus Laureate Kenny Xinda Li (M.A. photography, 2017):
"Each of us is skilled and knowledgeable in our chosen disciplines, and we all have wide-ranging interests and abilities — but like each of you, I'm just one person. That's why it's important to work with others who are experts in their fields. All together, we have expertise across the entire creative landscape. We form a community that is capable of everything."

4. Joyce Wang, award-winning interior designer, Joyce Wang Studio, SCAD Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters recipient:
"You represent the best in art and design education, and you take what you're taught and make the world a brighter place. What you have accomplished as students impresses me and portends tremendous achievement still to come in your professional careers. All of you make this university a special place indeed."

5. Douglas Young, CEO and founder of Goods of Desire (G.O.D.), SCAD Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters recipient:
"The present world order is in constant flux. What we think is the norm today will be replaced by something else very soon. From the way we dress to the movies we see to the food we eat and the music we listen to, all that will change for certain. It is up to us how we change it."

Every year during commencement, SCAD academic leadership presents the Outstanding Achievement Award to up to two graduating seniors or graduate students from each of the university’s eight academic schools. All students who are bestowed this honor meet—and in many cases exceed—a 3.5 grade point average and demonstrate remarkable talent and leadership qualities contributing to their success at SCAD and in their respective industries. SCAD congratulates the 2017 winners of the Outstanding Achievement Awards, and is pleased to share their impressive accomplishments.
   
School of Building Arts
Utharaa Zacharias (M.A., furniture design, 2017, Kochi, India) — While attending SCAD, Zacharias interned with Dakota Jackson, Inc. in New York City. In 2017, her "Medius Chair" was awarded the First Place Student Award for American Society of Furniture Designers (ASFD) Pinnacle Awards.  Zacharias is currently working with Maria Yee Furniture in the San Francisco Bay Area.
 
Erin Ward (M.F.A., historic preservation, 2017, Clinton, New Jersey) — Ward was bestowed the 2017 Master Fine Arts Thesis Award for Exceptional Achievement at SCAD, and consequently inducted into the Tau Sigma Delta Honor Society in Architecture and Allied Arts. She now works with an established architectural firm in Savannah and plans to contribute to the ongoing rebirth of Detroit, where her master's thesis was based.
 
School of Communication Arts
Alyssa Gonzalez (B.F.A., illustration, 2017, Miami, Florida) — Gonzalez's children's book was selected for the Random House Children's Book - Student Illustration Book Dummy Day, showcased at their New York offices in June 2017. Gonzalez has secured employment with Hallmark Cards this summer.
 
Trevor Poudrier (M.F.A., photography, 2016, Waltham, Massachusetts) — Through photographic art and installation, Poudrier investigates the dynamic between consciousness projection and fundamentals of photography. He is currently employing walk-in camera obscura installations to study and develop advanced consciousness projection techniques as part of his research into the ontology of photography.
 
School of Design
Alia Dadarkar (M.F.A., fibers, 2017, Mumbai, India) — Dadarkar's goal is to develop design solutions to encourage the sustainability of craft practices in India. Her thesis work focused on the need to conserve, preserve and celebrate traditional textiles and craft practices by recontextualizing them for a contemporary market.
 
Katherine Brown (B.F.A., industrial design, 2017, San Antonio, Texas) — Brown was Designer in Residence at Radley College in Oxford, England in 2016, teaching industrial design fundamentals to high school students. Her project "Cellula" won an honorable mention in the 2015 International Design Awards.
 
School of Digital Media
Christian Gallagher (B.F.A., visual effects, 2017, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania) — As a student, Gallagher served as President of the SCAD Digital Media Club and interned at the creative media agency JTWO Films. He currently works as a visual effects Houdini artist at Moving Picture Company in Los Angeles.
 
Joash Berkeley (B.F.A., motion media design, 2017, Fyzabad, Trinidad) — Berkeley was featured as the Designer of the Week in Print Magazine in July 2016. His 2017 short film "One in Seven Billion" was a finalist in the Adobe Design Achievement Awards, and placed 2nd in the Rookies International Student Competition. He won a Student Emmy from the Television Academy Foundation’s 38th College Television Awards for the opening titles for the SCAD student-produced scripted television series, "The Buzz." Berkeley has worked at Apple, Imaginary Forces and recently joined Buck TV in Los Angeles.
 
School of Entertainment Arts
Sydney Schaefer (B.F.A., performing arts, 2017, Mequon, Wisconsin) — Schaefer was the lead casting intern in the SCAD Casting Office, the only professionally run casting office at a university. During her time at SCAD, Schaefer worked on a wide range of film and television projects including WGN's series "Underground," BBC's "Living the Dream," "Baywatch" and "The Do-Over."
 
Shasta Ford (M.F.A., film and television, 2017, Deltona, Florida) — Ford is an Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation College Television Awards EMMY winner for Best Scripted Series, "The Buzz." Her work on "The Buzz" also earned her a Regional Emmy award. The organization also recognized Ford with a Student Production Award  for short form nonfiction and long form fiction.
 
School of Fashion
Suzanne Brady (B.F.A., fashion marketing and management, 2017, Buford, Georgia) — Brady was a college program intern at Walt Disney World's Tomorrowland and is currently a sales adviser at H&M. While at SCAD, she developed a love for costuming and is pursuing a return to Walt Disney World as an entertainment costume designer.
 
Jessica Riess (M.A., luxury and fashion management, 2016, Matthews, North Carolina) — Riess holds an M.B.A. and has positioned herself for a career in luxury travel and hospitality. Her final Master of Arts project was a comprehensive strategic plan for the development and marketing of a luxury hotel for Hermès.
 
School of Fine Arts
Cortney Frasier (M.F.A., painting, 2017, Mooresville, North Carolina) — Frasier teaches elementary art within the North Carolina public school system and serves as an advocate for fine arts education within the state. She was recently awarded Teacher of the Year honors in her district. In addition to receiving the Kiah Painting Scholarship from SCAD, Frasier is working on a new body of large-scale installation work that addresses gravity.
 
School of Liberal Arts

A'ndrea Wilson (M.F.A., dramatic writing, 2017, Soperton, Georgia) — Wilson is the author of over two dozen fiction and nonfiction titles and the owner of an independent publishing company. She is currently adapting one of her novels into a made-for-television film.
 
Katherine McCarthy (B.F.A., art history, 2017, Naperville, Illinois) — McCarthy has accepted an offer of admission to the Ph.D. program at the University of Texas-Austin. Based on her achievements at SCAD, she received an academic fellowship for her doctoral coursework in Mesoamerican art history.
 
Please join SCAD in applauding these accomplished creative professionals. Go Bees!

Celebrated creative visionary John Malkovich will address graduates at the Savannah College of Art and Design's Georgia campuses in Savannah and Atlanta, this Saturday, June 3. The occasion will mark the first time Malkovich has delivered a commencement address at a college or university.

"SCAD is overjoyed to welcome John Malkovich as our 2017 SCAD commencement speaker," declared Paula Wallace, SCAD president and founder. "He lives a life of distinct brilliance and intentional artistry. His knowledge and experience is vast, his achievements multiform."

SCAD's recognition of Malkovich epitomizes a belief in the ability of art to transform the world. Malkovich's career as an artistic polymath speaks directly to the vitality of the more than 100 degree programs offered at SCAD, including film and television, cinema studies, dramatic writing, fashion, fashion marketing and management, fibers, performing arts and writing.

A native of Christopher, Illinois and co-founder of the Chicago-based Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Malkovich directed or acted in more than fifty Steppenwolf productions between 1976 and 1982, including his Obie-winning triumph opposite Gary Sinise in Sam Shepard's "True West". In 1986, Malkovich directed fellow actor D.W. Moffett — currently the SCAD chair of film and television — in a "stunning revival" (the New York Times) of the Lanford Wilson drama "Balm in Gilead" at Circle Repertory Theater in New York.

Malkovich's film roles in Spike Jonze's meta classic "Being John Malkovich," Stephen Frears' "Dangerous Liaisons," Steven Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun," Paul Newman's "The Glass Menagerie," Roland Joffe's "The Killing Fields" and Joel and Ethan Coen's "Burn After Reading" are among his more than 70 big screen star turns. Performances in Wolfgang Petersen's "In the Line of Fire" and Robert Benton's "Places in the Heart" earned him nominations for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 2002, Malkovich made his feature directorial debut with "The Dancer Upstairs." He appeared in the acclaimed feature "Dominion," which made its U.S. premiere at the 2016 Savannah Film Festival.

As a fashion designer, Malkovich is celebrated for his lissome menswear. A passionate fabric collector and selector, he has previously welcomed SCAD Lacoste students on a private tour of his prêt-à-porter collection at a pop-up boutique near SCAD's incomparable campus in Lacoste, France. His latest sartorial endeavor, John Malkovich Fashion, launched in January, 2017 with a collection including gabardine jackets, mandarin-collared shirts and a vented, tartan raincoat, as well scarves printed with Malkovich's own quixotic illustrations.

Malkovich will address graduates Saturday at 9 a.m. the Savannah Civic Center, where he will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters. He will speak in Atlanta at 6 p.m. at Georgia World Congress Center, where he will be awarded the SCAD Étoile in recognition of his monumental creative work. The SCAD Class of 2017 is the largest in the university's history, with more than 2,400 graduates. We welcome John Malkovich to SCAD for this historic celebration.

If you watched this year's Academy Awards, you were witness to an unforgettable spectacle. This refers, not to the broadcast's improbable finale, but to what preceded it: the incredible, unmistakable presence of the creative contributions of SCAD alumni across a stunning spectrum of the nominated films.

As SCAD president and founder Paula Wallace enthused: "Over fifty astonishing SCAD alumni brought magic to the Academy Awards this year. What a WOW night! SCAD magic lit up the silver screen across so many categories, from ‘Zootopia' to ‘The Jungle Book' to the top prize for ‘Moonlight.' Oscar and Art the Bee, a match made in film heaven!"

At this year's 89th Academy Awards, SCAD alumni were nominated for their work on "Deepwater Horizon," "Doctor Strange," "Hidden Figures," "The Jungle Book," "Kubo and the Two Strings," "Moana," "Moonlight," "Passengers," "Piper," "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," and "Zootopia." Eleven of these alumni contributed their talents to more than one of these films. The diversity of these offerings is a testament to the exceptional preparation for professional careers these alumni received while students at SCAD, as implicitly acknowledged by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The Academy is made up of approximately 7,000 filmmakers and film professionals, divided into 17 specific branches. These are the Academy members who vote for the Oscars, championing professionals from every facet of the business.

Recognized across 10 different categories, SCAD alumni contributed to nominees for best picture, animated feature film, cinematography, costume design, directing, film editing, production design, sound editing, visual effects, and last but not least, adapted screenplay. (As host Jimmy Kimmel put it: "Just because a screenplay is adapted, doesn't mean we love it any less.")

Congratulations to the following SCAD alumni, whose work has been seen and loved by millions of moviegoers, and rightly celebrated by their peers, the Academy, and the entire SCAD family.

Sean Amlaner (M.F.A., visual effects, 2007), "Zootopia"
Lynn (Ryan) Bowdan (B.F.A., visual effects, 2009), "Rogue One"
Marc Casey (B.F.A., film and television, 2009), "Hidden Figures"
Ryan Coster (B.F.A., animation, 2011), "Doctor Strange"
Melissa Donnan (B.F.A., animation, 2009), "Moana"; "Zootopia"
Lauren Driskill (B.F.A., fashion marketing and management, 2011), "Hidden Figures"
Jesse Erikson (B.F.A., visual effects, 2008), "Moana"; "Zootopia"
Rich Fallat (B.F.A., visual effects, 2005), "Moana"
Shaun Galinak (B.F.A., visual effects, 2009), "Piper"
Chris Gallagher (M.F.A., computer art, 2004), "Moana"; "Zootopia"
Minor Gaytan (B.F.A., animation, 2007), "Moana"; "Zootopia"
Kevin George (M.A., visual effects, 2010), "Rogue One"
Logan Gloor (B.F.A., visual effects, 2007), "Moana"; "Zootopia"
Jesse Hildreth (B.F.A., visual effects, 2008), "Rogue One"; "The Jungle Book"
Justin Jones (B.F.A., visual effects, 2006), "Passengers"
Jessica Junkins (M.F.A., fibers, 2012), "Kubo and the Two Strings"
Anthony Kramer (B.F.A., computer art, 2004), "Rogue One"
Adam Lawthers (B.F.A., computer art, 2005), "Kubo and the Two Strings"
Nicolas Leu (M.A., visual effects, 2015), "Doctor Strange"
Colin Levy (B.F.A., film and television, 2011), "Piper"
Chloe Lipp (B.F.A., film and television, 2008), "Hidden Figures"
Gian Ignacio Lombardi (B.F.A., visual effects, 2014), "Doctor Strange"
Dan MacKenzie (B.F.A., animation, 2011), "Kubo and the Two Strings"
Derek Nelson (M.F.A., visual effects, 2009); "Moana"; "Zootopia"
Johnathan Nixon (B.F.A., visual effects, 2007), "The Jungle Book"
Sean Palmer (B.F.A., visual effects, 2005), "Moana"; "Zootopia"
Zach Parrish (B.F.A., animation, 2007), "Zootopia"
Alixandra Petrovich (B.F.A., video/film, 2003), "Deepwater Horizons"
Brittany Piacente (B.F.A., animation, 2012), "Rogue One"; "Doctor Strange"
Blair Pierpont (B.F.A., visual effects, 2007), "Moana"; "Zootopia"
Alexandra Poston (B.F.A., animation, 2012), "Zootopia"
Zachary Prengler (B.F.A., film and television), "Deepwater Horizons"
Wajid Raza (B.F.A., visual effects, 2008), "Doctor Strange"
Brett Reyenger (B.F.A., visual effects), "Deepwater Horizons"
Austin Richards (B.A., furniture design), "Kubo and the Two Strings"
Mikey Rogers (B.F.A., visual effects, 2010), "Doctor Strange"
Aleksander Rost (B.F.A., film and television, 2010), "Moonlight"
Tyler Saunders (B.F.A., film and television, 2008), "Kubo and the Two Strings"
Eric Schultz (B.F.A., visual effects, 2014), "Kubo and the Two Strings"
Rattanin Sirinaruemarn (M.A., visual effects, 2013), "Moana"; "Zootopia"
Mitchell Snary (B.F.A., computer graphics, 1999), "Moana"
Alexander Snow (B.F.A., animation, 2009), "Moana"; "Zootopia"
Ka Yaw Tan (B.F.A., computer art), "Moana"; "Zootopia"
Eunice Taylor (B.F.A., animation, 2014), "The Jungle Book"
Jim Van Allen (M.F.A., visual effects, 2006), "Rogue One"
Aaron Wilson (B.F.A., computer art, 2003), "Rogue One"
Chris A. Wilson (B.F.A., visual effects, 2009), "Deepwater Horizons"

The above list was compiled from information submitted to Career and Alumni Success and information culled from LinkedIn. If you are aware of a name missing from this list, please email information (Name, Degree, Year, Film, Role) to [email protected].

Grace Rokela is a winner. The senior fashion marketing and management major is one of a record 20 SCAD students who will each receive a $5000 YMA Fashion Award scholarship at a ceremony in New York City on January 12.

“It’s a confidence boost going into the real world as I try to find a job,” Rokela says. “It’s exciting knowing that my work is good enough, and I’m thankful for the opportunity SCAD has given me. I’ll meet key industry executives while I’m in New York. I’m hoping the scholarship will put me in front of the right people.”

As a renowned educational fashion non-profit, the YMA is dedicated to encouraging talented, creative young people like Grace to pursue careers in the fashion industry. What distinguishes Grace among her fellow SCAD scholarship winners is her status as a varsity athlete.

As women’s golf co-captain, Grace shoulders intense requirements on her time and energy. Here, she talks about finding inspiration and balance.

SCAD: How did you wind up at SCAD?

GRACE ROKELA: I started golfing when I was a freshman in high school. I learned to play at Vineyards in Naples, Florida, where I grew up. When I was 16 we drove through Savannah for a golf tournament, and my mom said, “There’s an amazing arts university here! It would be perfect for you, and I hear they have a golf team.” At the time I was shooting in the 90s. Within one year I was shooting in the 70s. I emailed Coach Workman and she emailed me back, and it worked out. It’s been an awesome journey. Every time I get to play with the girls on the team, it’s really special.

SCAD: Do you integrate elements of your design education into your golf game?

ROKELA: Definitely. I’m a very visual person, and I take that onto the course. Golf is creative too. You shape your shots. Being on the course is calming and stimulating and I get a lot of ideas about what I should do with my work when I’m out on the course.

SCAD: How did you develop your YMA scholarship-winning case study on FUNKtional Wearables?

ROEKLA: I had to create a case study for a class in non-traditional retailing. I learned about FUNKtional Wearables, which is a costume jewelry company that makes accessories you wear over your Fitbit or Jawbone. It’s a great idea! I interviewed FUNKtional Wearables founder, Cynthia Blais, for my case study. Cynthia does her business online. My case study proposes Macy’s as the first physical store to offer her product. Even in an era of online shopping, people like to try things on. My case study explores how the product would be displayed, and why that would bring new customers into the store. My SCAD professors Grace Canepa and Alessandro Cannata and the chair of fashion marketing, Dan Green, all helped immensely as I refined my case study.

SCAD: What’s next for you, Grace?

ROKELA: I’m working on my final portfolio, my capstone project, a brand extension, adding women’s golf to an athletic brand that doesn’t have it. I’d love for golf to be part of what I do professionally after graduation. I have some opportunities I’m looking into, designing golf clothes. I’d love to work for the Golf Channel. There’s so much that can done for women’s golf. We can all do something to grow the game. That’s the goal.

2017 SCAD YMA Winners

Chloe Ayoub (B.F.A., fashion, senior) Savannah
Talia Blyer (B.F.A., fashion, senior) Savannah
Esther Boller (B.F.A., fashion, senior) Savannah
Andrea Cabrera (B.F.A., fashion, junior) Atlanta
Natrika Charoenkitnapa (B.F.A., fashion, senior) Savannah
Natsima Charoenkitnapa (B.F.A., fashion, senior) Savannah
Ce’Erica Roland Ferguson (B.F.A., fashion marketing and management, senior) Atlanta
Nancy Gubbala (B.F.A., fashion, senior) Savannah
Alexis Houpt (B.F.A., fashion, senior) Atlanta
Laura London (B.F.A., fashion, junior) Atlanta
Kianna McCalla (B.F.A., fashion marketing and management, senior) Atlanta
Rikki Raiford (B.F.A., fashion, senior) Atlanta
Mikenna Rase (B.F.A., fashion marketing and management, senior) Savannah
Akilah Robertson (B.F.A., fashion, senior) Atlanta
Grace Rokela (B.F.A., fashion marketing and management, senior) Savannah
Sheila Ruiz (B.F.A., fashion, senior) Atlanta
Kristie Sales (B.F.A., fashion, senior) Savannah
Emilie Schroeder (B.F.A., fashion, senior) Savannah
Sarah Therrien (B.F.A., fashion marketing and management, junior) Savannah
Kayla Williams (B.F.A., fashion marketing and management, senior) Atlanta

Before we say goodbye to 2016, let’s take a look at some of the year's most outstanding moments. From incredible exhibitions to prestigious awards to one-of-a-kind events, we tally up the year's most memorable moments.

1. President Wallace published her memoir
SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace released her memoir, “The Bee and The Acorn,” a touching account of the history of the university, from the purchase of SCAD's first building to its global expansion.

2. Legendary fashion designer Carolina Herrera’s inaugural museum exhibition
SCAD honored the 35-year reign of the House of Herrera with the designer's first-ever museum retrospective: “Refined Irreverence.” The exhibition featured 99 garments in an expansive dual museum presentation — another first of its kind. In December, SCAD traveled part of the exhibition to Lincoln Center in New York, where Herrera was honored with the Women's Leadership Award.

3. First virtual reality musical premiered at 19^th Savannah Film Festival
At this year’s festival, “Say It With Music,” the first-ever virtual reality musical, made its debut. Created entirely by SCAD students, the short film enjoyed a rapturous reception.

4. Daniel Lismore’s sartorial collection exhibited twice
SCAD FASH opened the year with “Be Yourself; Everyone Else is Already Taken,” the first U.S. museum exhibition featuring the work of artist, stylist and designer Daniel Lismore. Daniel and SCAD joined at year's end for “Theater of Self,” a joint exhibition with Bin Feng (M.F.A. photography candidate) at SCAD at Miami, which opened during Art Basel.

5. Savannah Women of Vision honored on Georgia Day
SCAD celebrated of Georgia Day with the investiture of the Savannah Women of Vision in Arnold Hall, unveiling 10 relief sculptures commissioned in tribute to the remarkable ideas and insightful leadership of Savannah’s most distinguished women were installed at Arnold Hall.

6. Men’s and women’s fishing teams launched
SCAD introduced fishing to its roster of competitive athletic teams, making history as the first university to offer a women’s varsity fishing team.

7. SCAD Museum of Art celebrates 5^th anniversary
Rising from the ruins of the nation's oldest antebellum railroad depot, SCAD MOA celebrated its five-year anniversary this fall. Since its opening in 2011, the museum has garnered honors including the American Institute of Architects Institute Honor Award for Architecture; Congress for the New Urbanism, Charter Award; and Historic Savannah Foundation, Preservation Award.

8. Alumnus Jeffrey Taylor won 9^th Annual Supima Design Competition
Jeffrey Taylor (B.F.A. fashion, 2016) and his award-winning collection, “Tibet Garden,” appeared on the Paris runway in September at the Supima Design Competition Presentation. The young designer made his official runway debut at the 2016 SCAD Fashion Show in May. This is the second consecutive Supima win for SCAD students, on the heels of Kate McKenna’s win last year.

9. 2016 SCAD catalog is the first to feature augmented reality experience
SCAD pioneered the use of augmented reality (AR) technology to create the first AR-driven university catalog produced and designed entirely by a university. With over 100 AR features on 85 trackable pages, users can view student media reels, tour residence halls, live chat with admission representatives, and more.

10. aTVfest live streamed “The Mindy Project” panel for Savannah
For the first time in the annual television festival’s history, students in Savannah were able to join Atlanta audiences for a live-streamed episode of “The Mindy Project,” as well as a Q&A session with show writers, including Mindy Kaling herself.

11. SCAD FASH debuts first historical retrospectives
“Threads of History: 200 Years of Fashion” and “Embellished: Adornment Through the Ages” presented a rare chronology of European and American garments and accessories from the 18^th through 20th centuries. Both exhibitions are on display through March 19, 2017.

12. Equestrian team named champions
Once again, SCAD’s elite equestrian team won the American National Riding Commission (ANRC) National Championship, Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) National Championship and Tournament of Champions (TOC) series. No other university can claim this “triple crown” achievement, let alone for two consecutive years.

13. SCAD FASH celebrates first birthday
October 2016 saw the first anniversary of SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film — the only museum of its kind. In its first year, SCAD FASH welcomed 25,000 guests and hosted five unique exhibitions, including the inaugural exhibit “Oscar de la Renta.”

14. SCAD Atlanta sheltered Savannah students during Hurricane Matthew
In an unprecedented move, SCAD evacuated 1,300 students from Savannah to SCAD Atlanta as Hurricane Matthew approached the Atlantic coast. SCAD students channeled this change into creative pursuits and community service. Together with President Wallace, the students presented Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta with a painted mural to be used as a theater backdrop, as well as storytelling props.

15. Visionary Voices of the Civil Rights Movement honored
In September, a historical marker was placed at the entrance of SCAD’s Jen Library in dedication to the courage of Savannah students during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. SCAD held a ceremony featuring performances by SCAD alumni and Masud Olufani and Brittany Bosco.

16. SCAD hosted its first Thanksgiving feast
More than 1,000 students celebrated Thanksgiving on campus in Savannah this year. In addition to the festive feast and grand dessert, the SCAD Museum of Art hosted workshops, games, film screenings and more.