Visual Arts Instructor Lynn Mandziuk’s creative work defies categorization. Her art, inspired by her multi-cultural background and a love for the outdoors, encompasses a wide array of mediums—including visual art, music, animation, design, writing, and photography.
Coming to CU Denver as an art practices student allowed David Younglove '19 to enroll in painting and drawing courses to hone his craft and art history courses that expanded his understanding of the art world.
Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Tory Fink’s professional career as a builder and art director has taken him to the sets of television shows like MythBusters to the sets of the Star Wars franchise projects. Now, Fink serves in the College of Arts & Media as its Film & Television production design coordinator and lead.
Mariely Marquez-Lopez is a testament to the transformative power of philanthropy in education. As a Digital Design student and beneficiary of the a College of Arts & Media scholarship, Mariely has not only embraced the opportunity to pursue her passion for design but has also harnessed it to make a meaningful impact in her community.
In 2018, Gretchel Lomboy graduated from CU Denver with a Master of Science in Media Forensics (MSMF). The program taught her the skills she uses at her current position in the Seattle Police Department.
Attracted by the student-focused nature of her art history position, Elizabeth (Beth) Pugliano says her appreciation for the faculty, staff, and administrators that call the College of Arts & Media (CAM) home has grown due to their care and their desire to see the students grow and experience new things.
“I hope to continue populating the world with self-reliant creatives for a long time to come,” says art practices Professor Rian Kerrane. Originally from Ireland, Kerrane came to the U.S. seeking adventure. Through travel, teaching, and collaborating with other artists, Kerrane finds that adventure daily.
"The most exciting aspect of working in the music industry for me is being around the energy that comes from live performance and art," says Katelynn Eckles '20, MSRA '22. As a faculty member, Katelynn teaches audio production classes in MEIS in addition to working at the Levitt Pavilion as a Business Operations Manager.
When Dave Walter is not organizing amazing summer camp experiences for high schoolers or talking to prospective students about what makes CU Denver a great school, he enjoys spending time with his family either playing board games or exploring Colorado's great outdoors.
Now working in the Comcast Media and Technology Center and Inworks, CAM alum Chilli Kellaway attributes the accessibility of the faculty members and a “we’re all in this together” mentality among the students to their positive experience in CAM.
After having an experience at CAM's LYNX National Arts & Media Camp that "profoundly changed" him, Sam Michelman decided to come to CU Denver for the singer/songwriter program. He has stayed because of the quality of the curriculum and the support of his peers.
TaTiana Torres is CAM's student representative for the 2022-2023 academic year. Originally from Loveland, Colorado, Torres is enjoying her time in the heart of Denver as she pursues a degree in recording arts with a vocal performance emphasis.
Diego Zavala, PhD is a research professor of media and digital culture at Tecnologico de Monterrey in Zapopan, Mexico. While his main professional pursuits with film involve the study and theory of documentary films in particular, he has been involved in local film productions for community-based projects and videos for NGOs and commercial productions in Guadalajara.
Anaïs Ornelas believes image literacy “has become essential to the understanding of the world” and is committed to helping her students navigate the images they see in film, television, and other sources.
As a cinematographer whose credits include films that have been screened at Cannes, Morelia, Guanajuato, Huesca, and Toronto, Vidblain Balvas has also worked for big production companies like Netflix and HBO. Balvas will be joining the FiTV faculty as a visiting scholar this fall.
After studying Anthropology at CU Boulder, Laura Harvey thought her career would lead her to the jungles of Central and South America or to archaeological dig sites across the globe. But that all changed when her eyes were opened to Museum Anthropology. Now, Harvey's career in higher education has her meeting with prospective students and their parents and managing a whole lot of logistics.
"My biggest thrill and reward is when I see so many former students working successfully and doing big things in the industry, locally or nationally," says Storm Gloor, Associate Professor of Music Business.
“Rather than replicating western European art forms, CAM does exciting things at the intersection of arts, technology, and commerce—from many different cultural perspectives,” Dean Laurence Kaptain says.