Alumni Stories & Careers
Our award-winning alumni go on to work for top animation studios, attend prestigious graduate schools, and have their work featured in international film festivals. During your four years here, you'll prepare for life after PNCA with many opportunities to produce produce professional work for screening and performance, for festivals, and for education.
Featured Alumni
Qathi Hart '13
Qathi Hart went on from PNCA to receive an MFA from Duke University in Experimental and Documentary Arts. Hart works in film and video, installation and photography, as well as performance. Her work has been screened and exhibited widely, from conventional festivals and institutions in Seattle, LA, Durham, and Portland to festivals like Burning Man.
John Summerson '15
While still an undergraduate, John Summerson was awarded a Princess Grace Undergraduate Film Scholarship and the $5000 Grand Prize in LG’s Art of the Pixel competition. His film Road Trip (2013) was honored with an Audience Choice Award at PNCA REC Fest, as well being screened at the 2014 Northwest Animation Festival and Portland’s Experimental Film Festival. Summerson has worked with BENT Image Labs and will study Documentary Animation at Royal College of Art in London beginning Fall 2018. See an interview with John.
Maeve Fianna Callahan
Maeve Fianna Callahan works in animation, puppet-making, and photography. Callahan works at at Jim Henson Studios in Los Angeles, and has worked at Michael Curry and Bent Image Lab where she has done set fabrication, puppet making, and hair. She has recently returned to PNCA to teach a workshop in puppet making.
Micah Weber '14
Micah Weber is a moving image artist working in assembled animation, written material, sound, drawing, and documentary. He received a full-ride scholarship to the School of the Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University for his Master of Fine Arts in Kinetic Imaging. His work has been shown internationally at Split International Festival of New Film in Split, Croatia; the 54th Ann Arbor Film Festival; and the Holland Animation Film Festival in Utrecht. Read an interview with Micah.
Careers
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Animator
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Modeler
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Art Director
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Effect Animator
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Storyboard Artist
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Character Designer
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Compositor
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Visual Development Artist
Opportunities
Students work alongside professionals, screen their work, and compete for grants and awards
Turangalila
Students collaborated with alumni and chair of the Animated Arts program, Rose Bond, to create an evening of imaginative illustration for the Oregon Symphony’s 2017 production of Turangalila.
Boundary Crossings Institute
Undergraduate students may attend this two-week summer institute in experimental animation with an international cohort of professional animators and artists.
Boundary Crossings Institute
Princess Grace Award
Pamela Guest is the most recent Animated Arts senior who was selected for a 2017 Princess Grace Award. With this Undergraduate Film Scholarship, Guest received substantial financial support for her thesis film, Asi Somos.
Science in Studio Award
Students have combined environmental science and conservation with art to create social change through the Science in Studio Award, a partnership with PNCA’s Art + Science Initiative and federal agencies including NOAA Fisheries and the EPA. Students including Beryl Allee, John Summerson, have developed works including animations for these agencies through this award.
Internships
Students gain professional experience via internships and projects with these institutions and organizations
NW International Animation Festival
Oregon Jewish Museum
Regional Arts and Culture Council
Design Week Portland
OMSI
I had a great internship and it benefitted my creative practice. Now I am working at a studio utilizing the creativity and criticality I developed at PNCA.
Visit The Office of Career Design
Stop by the Office of Career Design to learn more about internships when you take a tour of campus.
Visit