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
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.
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
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
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.
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
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
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