Tell us more about your project. What inspired the idea?

The inspiration for Open Mind Open Heart dates back five years and is really specific but funny. The whole school takes direct inspiration from my own experiences at the girls' boarding high school I attended, but the idea of having specifically magical powers is the silly part.

We would often have trips to Target on weekends [and afterward] we always had to make the trip up two flights of stairs to our dorm rooms. Every time I was carrying all those bags, I would think, “Man, it would be really cool if I had telekinetic powers to carry this stuff and still have my hands free,” which then led me to think, “Wow, it would be super cool if everyone here had a superpower that we could use to help each other.” The universe of Open Mind Open Heart got its start from that.

What most surprised you once you started working on the project?

I honestly got way more attached to my project than I thought I would. Whenever I made test renders of the characters in my thesis, I turned to my friend next to me, pointed at the monitor, and said, “Look at my daughters!” I never lost passion for this film, even when deadlines got tight, and I’m so excited to share it with everyone.

What was a highlight of living and studying in New York City?

There is somehow always exactly what you’re looking for within a 20-minute or less subway ride from you. Sometimes, I’ll need something specific like Joy-Con repair, or I’m craving a particular flavor of Boba tea, and I’ll search it up on Google and find three different options within half a mile of me.

What is something you learned at SVA that you'll always take with you?

Proper time management on a larger scale; since in high school, each class met four times a week, I often managed my time on a more daily scale with smaller assignments, but SVA helped me learn to organize my time for larger projects with longer deadlines.

Was there a teacher or course that was essential for you?

Seth Gollub and Ashley Gerst piqued my interest in character rigging, which I discovered I wanted to specialize in once I came to SVA. I don’t know if I would’ve realized how much I like rigging had I not taken their classes.

What was your favorite piece of advice that a teacher or student shared with you?

The devil is in the details.

What advice do you have for next year's students going through your program?

Make spreadsheets! I had a whole production tracker for this film, and not only did it help me realize when I needed to pick up the pace to give myself ample time at each stage of the pipeline, but it was so rewarding to check things off as they got done.

For this year’s SVA Alumni Scholarship Awards, 86 students were chosen from a pool of hundreds of applicants and granted scholarships worth $62,000 for dozens of art and multimedia projects. To see a list of the 2024 recipients, click here. For more information about applying for an Alumni Scholarship Award, click here.

To contribute to the Support the Talent campaign, you can make a donation online at sva.edu/give.

The fourth-year BFA 3D Animation and VFX student’s award-winning thesis project is an animated short called ‘Open Mind Open Heart.’