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Graduate Program Assistants Fall 2022!

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Graduate Program Assistants
Meet Your Graduate Program Assistants (GPAs)!

Graduate Program Assistants (GPAs) support their Program Director and fellow students to ensure the effective operation of their program. GPAs serve as graduate student leaders and work collaboratively with each other and the Office of Graduate Studies to help build community by promoting dialogue, the exchange of information, and timely communications.

 

Graduate Program Assistants

Molly Hurley (She/They), Community Arts, MFA

Molly Hurley is a Master of Fine Arts in Community Arts candidate at Maryland Institute College of Art and a Rice University graduate with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry. From previous work with organizations such as Beyond the Bomb, The Prospect Hill Foundation, Women Cross DMZ, and Daisy Alliance, she has garnered experiences in advocacy, philanthropy, social media and website development, and research. She currently works full-time as the Communications and Development Manager for WombWork Productions, Inc. based in Baltimore, MD and co-runs a monthly column for Inkstick Media with Lovely Umayam, founder of Bombshelltoe Policy and Arts Collective, in which they critically analyze pop culture phenomena and their ties to national security. She’s also published multiple times with the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.

Sandy Cheng (She/Her), Curatorial Practice, MFA

Sandy Cheng is originally from Taiwan but grew up in Shanghai, China. She got her BFA in Visual Arts and Design from the National University of Tainan in 2021. She was an oil painter/ graphic designer/ printmaker, loved playing different roles, and now integrating her passion for various artistic materials into curatorial practices.

Inés Sanchez de Lozada (She/Her), Curatorial Practice, MFA

Inés Sanchez de Lozada is a second-year student in the MFA in Curatorial Practice program.

Steven Zhu (He/Him), Filmmaking MFA

Steven Zhu is currently based in Baltimore, MD as a filmmaker, designer, and actor. His artwork is influenced by stage plays and theater as a medium. By loosening the boundaries between stage and screen, reality and performance, he aims to give the audience an immersive experience.

Hrishikesh Birodkar (He/Him), Graphic Design MA

Hrishikesh is a graphic designer & illustrator from Goa, India. He feels beyond grateful to be a designer because he gets to work across a diverse range of industries. He attributes his success in design to the friends and mentors he has met throughout his journey who have offered different perspectives and advice that Hrishikesh has incorporated into his work.

Sara Austin (She/Her), Graphic Design, MFA

I'm a current 2nd-year design student in MICA's GDMFA program. I earned my MA in Graphic Design from MICA as well and my undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Goucher College.

Isha Chennuru (She/Her), Graphic Design, MFA

Isha Chennuru is a graphic designer and illustrator raised in Mumbai, India. She has completed her Bachelors in Design from Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology and has had three years of work experience since. She worked at a corporate branding agency for a year, after which she chose to work as a freelancer. She has worked on a range of projects - from illustrating a book, branding a political youth party and packaging design for brands. In her free time you will find her cooped up with a book in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. This is her first stint living outside her tropical home country, and she looks forward to experiencing the wonderful visual stimuli the seasons have to offer here in Baltimore!

Shuang Wu (She/Her), Graphic Design MFA

Hello! I am Shuang (Luna) from GDMFA. I am originally from southern China and have been living in multiple cities from China to US in the past few years. I am a huge animal & plant lover, and I have an adorable, crazy family pup who looks like a snowball. In my spare time, I love to play console games, travel & hiking, and watch horror movies.

Shobhitha Saravanan (She/Her), Graphic Design, MFA

Shobhitha is a visual designer and cat mom hailing from Chennai, India. She holds a Bachelors in Design from Symbiosis International University, Pune. She has since worked professionally for the global consulting firm Deloitte Digital, with focus on UI/UX design. Shobhitha enjoys baking and she started her own women-owned baked goods small-business during the pandemic. She is passionate about fostering inclusivity, typography, and all things food!

Madalyn Drewno (She/Her), Illustration MA

Hello! My name is Madalyn and I am from Denver, CO. After receiving a BFA in Illustration, I went on the JET program where I lived and worked in Japan for two years. Now as an MA-IL student, I want to begin a career illustrating children’s books. My favorite animal is a wiener dog.

Hana Azim (She/Her), Illustration Practice, MFA

Hi! I'm Hana, a second-year in the Illustration Practice MFA program. I love creating work that captures the little joys of life and I'm an avid brunch enthusiast.

Breeze Hu (She/They), Illustration Practice MFA

This is Breeze from ILP! I like making comics, pop culture garbage, enjoying good film and music and walking without purpose.

Poojac Kumar

Pooja Venkatachalam Kumar (She/Her), Illustration Practice MFA

I'm a chemical engineer turned artist. I love to read books about nature and am always on the lookout to explore new and creative ways to amalgamate science and art! Everything about living things excites me and I'm driven to make the Earth a better place by using my art as the tool for communicating critical issues.

Jacob Sechter (He/Him), LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting MFA

I grew up in Greensboro, NC where I received my BFA at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). I then lived in Wilmington, DE for 5 years before moving to Baltimore for grad school at MICA. Other than painting and making art I like to explore new places, hang out in nature, and spend time with my friends and family.

Elena Kovylyaeva (She/Her), LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting MFA

Elena Kovylyaeva was born 1991 in Russia and grew up in Germany. After studying film and comparative literature at Free University of Berlin, in 2020 she graduated from the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig with an MFA in painting. She came to Baltimore through a Fulbright scholarship and is currently a 2nd year student in the LeRoy E. Hoffberger MFA program. She started out as an abstract painter, but has recently been experimenting with different materials and a more sculptural approach.

Mariah Williams (She/They), LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting MFA

I’m a second year graduate student in the LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting. My work centers around identity, introspection, and more recently, spiritual connections and liminal spaces. I’m a figurative painter working mainly with oil mediums.

Kristofer Heng-Lehtinen (He/Him), Mount Royal School of Art Multidisciplinary MFA

I am Scandinavian American from the mountains outside of Los Angeles and love found material, photographs and feelings.

Mary Smith (They/Them) LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting MFA

Mary Smith is a multimedia artist and painter, entering her second and final year in the Hoffberger Painting program. A Maryland native, she continues to expand and explore her passions of diversifying her visual language vocabulary in her home state, and beloved Baltimore. She uses native stones, found objects, charcoal, and graphite primarily on paper to convey themes of connectivity, place, bondage, and life in her abstract artworks. Delve into her works further on her artist website: https://mas.onl/

Nova Pan (She/Her), Mount Royal School of Art Multidisciplinary MFA

I'm a second year Mount Royal Multidisciplinary art program student. I work with moving images and objects. A cat person.

Katie Peck (She/Her), Mount Royal School of Art Multidisciplinary MFA

Howdy! I am a multidisciplinary artist from San Jose, California who creates with found fibers, plant matter, forgotten art supplies, and is inspired by rainbow trouts. I love exploring the green spaces in and around Baltimore and am working to become a Weed Warrior to help maintain the health of Baltimore’s urban forests! Let's hangout :)

Yoon Lee (They/Them), Mount Royal School of Art Multidisciplinary MFA

Yoon Lee is a second-year student in the Mount Royal School of Art.

Kevin Barry (They/Them), Photography + Media & Society, MFA

Kevin Barry is a second-year student in the Photography + Media & Society program.

Paula Navarro (They/Them), Photography + Media & Society MFA

Paula Navarro is a second-year student in the Photography + Media & Society program.

Chang Il Kim (He/Him), Rinehart School of Sculpture MFA

I came from South Korea and majored in sculpture. I usually enjoy making artworks about animals and the environment using wire and strings.

Alice Weston (She/Her), Social Design MA

I am a Georgia native and spent the last eight years in Atlanta working in the non-profit sector. I am always searching for ways we can make life a little easier for our neighbors. I have a beagle mix June and a huge mutt dumpster cat Wiley. I love taking day hikes outside the city on the weekends and have really enjoyed exploring Baltimore on my walks with June.

Samia Bzioui (She/Her), Studio Art, MFA

My artistic journey started in Morocco in 2012 in parallel with my career at the Central Bank. After moving to the United States in 2018, I started an MFA in Studio Arts. My work follows a multidisciplinary approach to address the space in between the two places each immigrant belongs to and question the concept of homeliness.

Hannah Baker (She/Her), Teaching MA

I am a mixed media artist from Michigan currently in the MAT program at MICA. My art practice revolves heavily around being outside, observing, and building relationships. I love all things water and delicious desserts.

Sarah Rogan (She/Her) Teaching MA

I am a painter from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In undergrad I worked primarily with film photography and darkroom processes, focusing on themes of nature and memory. Outside of being a grad student in Baltimore, I'm a cat mom, plant mom, and snake mom.

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