Scholarship Program > 2023-24 Winners
2023 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
Out of 189 applications from 76 schools across the US and Puerto Rico as well as Bulgaria, Canada, India, Ireland, Philippines, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam during the 2023-2024 program, the WIA scholarship committee selected these 17 amazing students as most deserving of scholarships, in addition to 25 students as honorable mentions.
THE WINNERS
Minha Aamir
Sheridan College minhaaamir.myportfolio.comHello! My name is Minha and I’m a Pakistani-Canadian illustrator, vis-dev artist, and background artist. I’m currently a third year student at Sheridan College in Canada, for Illustration. My inspirations include indie video games, the Canadian outdoors, and the beauty in the mundanity of our every day lives. It’s an honour to accept this award with so many great artists, thank you WIA!
Amarise DeFranco
California Institute of the Arts amarisedefranco.wixsite.comAmarise DeFranco is a Miami/LA based Character Designer & Visdev artist currently attending CalArts where she’s pursuing her BFA in Character Animation. While she dabbles in all things Visdev, Character Design in particular has always had a special place in her heart. Amarise dreams of one day running/directing her own show or feature film, becoming an art director & lead character designer, and overall just making an impact in this industry!
Emy Galustyan
California Institute of the Arts mymgal.myportfolio.comEmy Galustyan is a LA/Detroit based aspiring character designer and Calarts BFA4. She finds inspiration by the nature that she’s surrounded with, folktales she grew up on, and the places she grew up in. Emy enjoys reading about how nature influenced culture and folklore around the world, and tries to implement what’s he learns into her style and stories.
Dina Garatly
University of Southern California artstation.com/dina_garatlyDina Garatly is a filmmaker and animator currently pursuing her MFA in Expanded Animation at USC, originally from Saudi Arabia. Holding an MSc in Computer Animation from the University of Kent, she is a founding member of the KAUST – Visualization Core Lab, contributing as a Visualization Scientist for over a decade.
Julieta Herrera-De Anda
Woodbury University julietherreradeanda.weebly.comHi, I am Juliet a Mexcian Niagruan senior at Woodbury University with a passion for fabrication and storytelling. I am currently working on my stop motion senior film called The Flower Snatcher and I am so excited to show you all!
Lyly Hoang
California Institute of the Arts lylyhoang.weebly.comLyly is a Vietnamese Filmmaker who is currently attending California Institute of the Arts – She loves crafting stories about the drama of life on earth, and learning all about the ins and outs of the modern day human mind.
Rebecca Huang
School of Visual Arts rebhuang.artRebecca Huang is a filmmaker and story artist based in New York City. Before pursuing her MFA degree in computer arts at SVA, she worked in the tech industry for three years, specializing in sales and marketing strategies. While this experience trained her business acumen, it also made her realize how much she loves to draw, create and tell stories.
Rebecca will use the WIA scholarship to fund “Human Fossil,” an animated short film featuring aliens, toilets and funny coffee mugs.
Maria Jaramillo
California Institute of the Arts maria-jaramillo.weebly.comMaria is an aspiring storyboard artist, currently studying Character Animation at CalArts. Growing up in Cali, Colombia, she decided to pursue a career in animation which meant leaving the comforts of home behind to find new opportunities abroad. Maria wishes to become a better artist and storyteller who someday can help create new and diverse stories that inspire others the same way animation inspired her growing up.
Lin Jin
Ringling College of Art and Design doubles.portfoliobox.netHi, my name is Lin. I worked as Student Outreach Coordinator in the Center of Diversity and Inclusion at Ringling to provide help among diversity, LGBT and non-binary groups during my junior year. Invitation from The National Society of Leadership and Success was sent to me to build better leadership and bring more service to the society in my senior year.
Julianne Li
Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learningjlipicsart.weebly.com
Hello! I’m Julianne Li, a Chinese Canadian story artist studying at Sheridan College. I have an immense passion for combining cinematography, drawing, and storytelling to tell new and diverse stories. I am just as interested in teaching aspiring artists and finding ways to uplift underrepresented voices in the industry. I am extremely grateful for the opportunities that WIA has offered and am excited for the future of this industry!
Elizabeth Michelle Marakasherry Albin
School of Visual Arts michellemarakasher.wixsite.comMichelle Marakasherry is an Indonesian-Indian artist studying 3D Animation at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Michelle specializes in Lighting and Visual Development and has an immense passion for storytelling, especially ones not often recognized by western media.
She hopes to continue making universal stories with specificity and sharing some good hearty laughs with those around her.
Erika Salazar Gutierrez
California Institute of the Arts erikakiseki.wixsite.com /theerikasalazarErika, who is originally from Mexico City, is studying at CalArts pursuing a career in Character Animation, specializing in character design and story. She enjoys filmmaking, and writing stories that can move a heart or change minds. Her passion for her country, science fiction, and fantasy genres influence her artwork. Aside from drawing, she likes to collect dolls, study witchcraft, watch alien conspiracy videos, and read history books!
Aaron Sams
School of Visual Arts aaronsams.squarespace.comAaron Sams is a concept artist with a focus in character design originally from St. Louis, MO. Before pursuing a career in art, they worked at a chemical production facility and contemplated medical school. They’re now working diligently on their senior thesis project at the School of Visual Arts and looking to graduate with a BFA in Animation.
Aaron’s work is influenced primarily by music, literature, and poetry, and an important part of their work as a character designer is capturing intimacy, realism, and subtlety.
Ivy Tan
California Institute of the Arts ivytanart.weebly.comIvy Tan is an animator and filmmaker based in LA and Singapore. She is deeply passionate about the spontaneous and collaborative process of animation filmmaking, and hopes to highlight underrepresented voices through charming designs, animations, and stories. In her free time she enjoys hosting morning walks and jogs for her animation cohorts.
Jamie Tran
Academy of Art University jamiedraws.wixsite.comJamie is a passionate Vietnamese character designer currently studying at the Academy of Art University. When they are not busy creating new characters for their projects, they love to play video games, pet stray cats, and draw Star Wars fan art.
Taylor Yingshi
Columbia University tayloryingshi.comTaylor Yingshi is an NYC-based illustrator and environment designer for animation. She creates detailed, narrative-driven work with an emphasis on stylized color.
Ashley Love Yumul
De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde ashleyloveyumul2352.myportfolio.comI am Ashley Love J. Yumul, and I am currently on the second year of taking an animation course in College of St. Benilde! I specialize in variety forms of art such as digital painting, 2d animation, 3d animation, charcoal traditional drawing, and more, but I intend to pursue being an animator for studios I’m interested in or for my own studio.
HONORABLE MENTION
Margarita Beglaryan – New York Film Academy
Xinhui Chen – School of Visual Arts
Sydney Christensen – Ringling College of Art and Design
Sofia Fonzi – San Jose State University
Erin Gonzalez – School of Visual Arts
Emma Greenman – Ringling College of Art and Design
Lucy Hsiung – Ringling College of Art and Design
Heewon Im – School of Visual Arts
Alexis Johannessen – San Jose State University
River Lai – School of Visual Arts
Tam Le – Savannah College of Art and Design
Seogene Lee – School of Visual Arts
Carole Naegelen – Motion Pictures Arles ( MoPA )
Alexandra Olsen – Vermont State University
Brisa Parra – University of Southern California
Dacia Pruden – Ringling College of Art and Design
Andie Revilla – Ringling College of Art and Design
Marisol Salazar Montoya – Ringling College of Art and Design
Seohee Choi – Gnomon-School of VFX, Games & Animation
Ofre Sparrow Vaknin – California Institute of the Arts
Courtney Vonada – School of Visual Arts
Chonnajun Waitayawinyoo – Ringling College of Art and Design
Tabitha Wekerle – California Institute of the Arts
Nicole Wu – Atlantic University
Zixin Yang – School of Visual Arts