SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS ANNOUNCED
The WIA Animation Scholarship is an annual award committed to furthering deserving animation students who demonstrate artist talent, a passion for animation, a financial need, and a promising future in the field of animation.
Out of 83 applicants from 44 schools across 17 U.S. states as well as Canada, Cyprus and the UK, the WIA scholarship committee, led by the Chair of Education, Hsiang Chin Moe, selected these eight amazing students as most deserving of scholarships.
WIA is proud to announce our 2020 scholarship winners.
Daria Burkut
Born in a small town in Siberia and now based in Cyprus, Limassol, where she is studying animation at Cyprus Academy of Arts in cooperation with University for the Creative Arts. Daria loves to pursue traditional animation, as well as explore new techniques.
Tabitha Kitchen
A senior majoring in Computer Animation at Ringling College of Art and Design, Tabitha is currently finishing her thesis film “Granny’s Gamble” about a feisty grandma pulling off a heist at a casino. Art has always been a huge part of her life and having the opportunity to be an animation intern at Blue Sky studios this past summer has strengthened her love for art and its power to bring people together.
Clarisse Chua
Originally from Singapore, Clarisse attended Tama Art University in Tokyo and is currently studying Character Animation at the California Institute of the Arts. She makes animated films inspired by both Eastern and Western myths and legends that she learned growing up. She also likes making miniatures out of felt.
Minh-Chau Nguyen
An animation student in her last year at Santa Monica College, Minh-Chau Nguyen previously studied design and worked in fashion production before redirecting her career into animation. She is looking forward to sharing her own unique narrative as a story artist someday.
Elizabeth Dettmann
An artist and animator born and raised in New York City and currently living in Maryland. She is graduating in May from Rochester Institute of Technology with a BFA in Film and Animation, and hopes to enter the animation industry as a storyboard artist or character designer. Her dream is to tell empathetic, impactful stories that bring joy to the viewer’s lives, and change the way they think about animation.
Marion Parajes
Marion is a story artist with an emphasis on visual development and is currently studying at California Institute of the Arts. They seek to create films that voice underrepresented experiences in order to bring animation to a broader range of audiences.
Jenny Duong
Jenny is currently pursuing her BFA in Illustration at California State University Fullerton. She has been inspired by animation since childhood, which funneled her passion to one day being an art director for an animated TV series.
Kaylan Peattie
Kaylan is a character animator and artist in her junior year at School of Visual Arts in New York City. Her passion lies in achieving new ways to express life through animation and filmmaking.
2020 Scholarship Recipient Awards
The scholarship pool totals $15,000 and also features one program award from Animation Mentor and three from Toon Boom. Animation Mentor offers one WIA Animation Scholarship winner a 6-week workshop (a $699-$899 value) and allows that awardee the choice of several courses. The recipient of this award is Daria Burkut. Toon Boom supported this year’s winners with one-year of bundled licenses of Storyboard Pro and Harmony Premium as well as one-on-one remote training. The recipients are Daria Burkut, Marion Parajes and Kaylan Peattie.
WIA President Marge Dean and Chair of Education Hsiang Chin Moe presenting the awards to three LA-based winners: Marion Parajes, Minh-Chau Nguyen and Clarisse Chau at BRIC 2020 Talent + Innovation Summit.
WIA President Marge Dean presenting the awards to Clarisse Chau at BRIC 2020 Talent + Innovation Summit.
Three LA-based WIA 2020 scholarship winners: Marion Parajes, Minh-Chau Nguyen and Clarisse Chau at BRIC 2020 Talent + Innovation Summit.
Next Year's Program Coming Soon
WIA will be announcing next year’s program in May, 2020 so please check back for more information. We sincerely look forward to hearing from more applicants next year so we can help more rising talent to pursue their career paths in the field of animation.