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 boardgames 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.
Senior Verena Fuentes is flourishing in the signer/songwriter program in the Music & Entertainment Industry Studies department. "I love about this school that more than a competition, it feels like teamwork so that we can all succeed," says Fuentes.
Student Autumn Cierra says photography helped her "develop an understanding about the way the world works and how we as humans interact with it." Graduating this spring with her BFA, Autumn has already launched her own business.
As CAM's Finance & Operations Manager, Anthony Wilson is frequently the first point of contact for faculty members looking to provide a scholarship opportunity or finance a special project. Although he doesn't create art himself, Anthony delights in being able to smooth the way for students and faculty members "changing the world" through their art.
"CAM allowed me to be incredibly flexible with what I wanted to do...I found out I loved photography because of CAM’s encouragement to experiment," Sebastien Chiu ('20) says. A Film & Television major, Chiu eventually found his professional calling as a freelance consultant who focuses on publicity and community management in the high-end consumer audio industry.
"The visual arts have a way of reflecting the human condition while communicating indescribable sensations, ideas and states of experience that would otherwise be impossible to convey," says CAM alum Scottie Burgess '16.
"After developing my skills in career coaching and advising, when the opportunity presented itself to combine that skillset with arts, music, film and scholarship, there was no doubt in my mind that this was the job for me," Amy Foss says of her position as CAM's Life Design and Career Coach Advisor.