2024-25 Scholarship Winners

SCHOLARSHIP

Scholarship Program > 2024-25 Winners

2024-25 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

Out of 179 applications from 77 schools across the US and Puerto Rico as well as Bulgaria, Canada, India, Ireland, Philippines, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam during the 2024-2025 program, the WIA scholarship committee selected these 14 amazing students as most deserving of scholarships, in addition to 41 students as honorable mentions.

THE WINNERS

Charlea Galea
McClure

Concordia
University

charliegaleamcclure.com

Charlie Galea McClure (they/he) is an experimental animator with a passion for horror and DIY aesthetics based in Tiohtià:ke/ Montreal, Qc. Deeply inspired by queer and trans bodies, experiences, and existence, Charlie’s work revolves around themes of memory, monstrosity, and the uncanny, as well as the ethereal, the surreal, and the elusive. Throughout all their work, the connecting tissue is a deep fascination with hauntological and oneiric expressions and an enthusiasm for material exploration. Charlie is interested in dreamscapes and representing the liminal spaces where dream, memory, myth, and imagination intersect and overlap.

Maya
Gregoire

Dawson
College

www.instagram.com/sunshin3_arts

I am a young artist from Montreal, Canada, who is interested in literature, films, art, and, above all,
animation. I am currently a student at Dawson College, where I am learning and pursuing my dreams of becoming an animator in their 3D Animation and CGI program. My biggest aspiration is to work on animated films that will inspire and bring joy to other people, just as they did and continue to do for me to this day.

Mishi
Lee

Savannah College of Art & Design

mishilee.com

Mishi Lee completed their undergraduate studies at SCAD Atlanta, graduating with a BFA in Animation at the top of their class as Salutatorian of the Class of 2021. Now, they have returned to their alma matar in pursuit of their MFA in Sequential Art. Mishi has a passion for visual storytelling and has storyboarded for shows including FX’s “Archer” and Nickelodeon’s “Monster High” Youtube series. They also bear a love for teaching and hope to become an animation professor in the future.

Hannah
Miller

University of Southern California

https://hannahrosemiller.com/

Hi! My name is Hannah Miller, and I am an aspiring production designer. I am currently studying Animation and Digital Arts at the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. I love everything involving color and design, and I strive to become as versatile as possible when addressing each department of the pipeline for animated feature film and television. When I’m not holding a pen, you can find me swimming laps, hiking, or listening to my classic Broadway musicals playlist.

Ryleigh
Moule

Moore College of Art and Design

Ryleigh Moule is a current senior at Moore College of Art and Design graduating in Spring 2025 with a major in Animation and Game Arts and a Minor in Sequential Art. She is the President and co-lead for Moore College of Art and Design’s Animation Club – A Woman in Animation Student Collective. She participates in various other leadership activities such as peer tutoring and student government.

Ryleigh’s passion currently lies in her senior thesis project titled “Project Selkie”, a proof of concept TV pilot, where she is directing 45 other artists in bringing her world to life!

Autumn

Noel

Maine College of Art &
Design
autumnotic.art

Autumn Noel, a New England based artist, is studying at Maine College of Art & Design where she is earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Animation & Game Art with a minor in Music. Noel’s concentrations are rooted in the stop motion pipeline; designing, building, animating and doing post production cleanup. Music and sound is something essential to all the work that Noel creates. For her, it allows storytelling to be the tool that the artist and audience use to dance in an imaginative way through the intertwinement of sound and visuals. Currently, Noel is working on a thesis film about relationships within the self, and she is integrating a wide variety of design elements and engineering skills to explore the way stop motion is understood and celebrated.

Alex

Nguyen

Savannah College of Art and Design
nguyenthithanhthuy83.wixsite.com

Thi-Thanh Thuy Nguyen, also known as Alex Nguyen, is currently an MFA Animation student at the Savannah College of Art and Design and an independent filmmaker. Embracing a retro-futuristic aesthetic, she seeks to experiment with various experimental animation techniques and technologies to apply to narratives and create films that reflect her worldview: how the world works, environmental issues, space science, biology, geology, human psychology, and society’s contradictions. She aspires to create psychological cinematic experiences that transcend the surface, leaving audiences pondering the nuances of darkness and hope.

Karen
Ramirez

ArtCenter College of
Design
karamiio.myportfolio.com

Karen Ramirez is a Mexican-American artist born and raised in LA. She is passionate in capturing moments through color and light within visual development and background painting. She’s currently a junior at ArtCenter College of Design studying Illustration, Entertainment Arts. Outside of art, you can find her traveling throughout LA, admiring historical architecture and impressionist paintings.

Bahar
Rezvanifar

Savannah College of Art and Design
baharrezvanifar.wixsite.com

Bahar Rezvanifar is an award-winning multidisciplinary filmmaker. She started her professional career as a journalist in 2018 and made the change to the entertainment industry in 2021. Bahar is currently studying Motion Media Design at Savannah College of Art and Design and is focused on storytelling and producing. She has worked for UNICEF and BMW in her career and now is a programming intern at the SCAD Film Festival.

Micah
Sanders

School of Visual
Arts
sandersmoomicah.wixsite.com

Micah Sanders is a first generation Junior, studying 2D Animation at the School of Visual Arts, New York. Garnering over a million reads on their webcomic and 730k views on their first short film, Micah has ambitions of being a professional Character Animator and Storyboard Artist.

Amber
Schmoyer

Ringling College of Art and
Design
amberschmoyer.com

Hello! My name is Amber, and I’m an animator from the San Francisco Bay Area, currently finishing up my senior year at Ringling College of Art & Design. Animating feels like wielding magic to me, and I’ve been hooked ever since I made my first flipbook. When I’m not hunched over a desk, you can find me crocheting silly little animals, teaching art classes for kids, or watching A Goofy Movie. I’m incredibly excited to begin my journey in this amazing industry, and I can’t thank WIA enough for their support!

Abigayle
Schroder

Pratt Institute

abigayleschroder.com

Abigayle Schroder is an internationally recognized and award winning director and animator who is currently an Animation Masters student at Pratt Institute. She has two multimedia animation films that have amassed multiple international selections and wins. Schroder is passionate about telling stories that are underrepresented in animation like her film “I Killed The Queen” which is about menopause, murder and misunderstandings. In the future she would like to continue directing and creating stories that reserves space for and adds humor to the female experience.

Zoharah Kolkur
Sørensen

The Animation Workshop, VIA University College
zoharah.com

Zoharah is an artist in animation based in Denmark who just graduated from The Animation Workshop in Viborg, Denmark. Here, she got to direct the graduation film “Bliss” with help from her lovely classmates. Her work is sensual, poetic and sometimes a little silly!

Xinyi
Wu

Art Center College of
Design
xinyiwuu.wixsite.com/portfolio

Xinyi is a Singaporean-Chinese artist and designer who aspires to work in multiple creative fields. She is open to new opportunities and is always eager to learn new skills. She is particularly interested in designing environment concepts for entertainment and creating backgrounds for animation. She is also experienced in creating illustrations, animation, games, and motion graphics.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Alisiia Abramova –Ecole Supérieure des Métiers Artistiques

Sydney Agans – California Institute of the Arts

Ronnie Ahlborn – School of Visual Arts

Schantelle Alonzo– School of Visual Arts

Mercedes Anaya Zarzosa – Sheridan College Institute Of Technology and Advanced Learning

Ray Banatt – School of Visual Arts

Amelia Barnum – Savannah College of Art and Design

Avery Buffington – University of Colorado: Denver

Meryl Chan – School of Visual Arts

Priscilla Candelas – Moraine Valley Community College

Nat Chantharojwong – Savannah College of Art and Design

Himari Chatani – California Institute of the Arts

Rita Chen – California Institute of the Arts

Mikaëla Daoust – BAU College of Arts and Design of Barcelona

Anna Victoria Dembowski Riva – School of Visual Arts

Ash Dhanu – JMC Academy

Katharine Doescher – California Institute of the Arts

Alexandra Donsky – School of Visual Arts

Ludmila Flachaire – MoPA (Motion Pictures in Arles)

Addison Fujimoto – School of Visual Arts

Grace Ha – School of Visual Arts

Annie Han – California Institute of the Arts

Clarissa Herrera – Algonquin College

Lindsey Hudson – Kansas City Art Institute

Abigail James – Lipscomb University

Francesca Jassir Noguera – San Jose State University

Mya Jones – Virginia Commonwealth University

Minnie Kim – University of Pennsylvania

Gayeon Kim – School of Visual Arts

Sasha Klein – Laguna College of Art and Design

Yelyzaveta Kryvoviaz – Bournemouth University

Daniela La Rotta Jimenez – San Jose State University

Lesley Marroquin – School Of Visual Arts

Ana Laura Meraz Perales – Laguna College of Art and Design

Grace Park – California Institute of the Arts

Lang Ratmansunu – School of Visual Arts

Ainsley Richmond – Bradley University

Morgan Rutsay – Savannah College of Art and Design

Daisy Rutter – Emily Carr University of Art + Design

Zora Troupe – Maryland Institute College of Art

Kaysie Vasquez – Fashion Institute of Technology

SCHOLARSHIP