Career Paths

My time at UNC Asheville was deeply formative, and I especially valued working with my advisor, Lei Han. Since graduating, I’ve built a career in New York City as a Post Producer for People, Inc. (People Magazine, InStyle, Travel + Leisure, EW, and more), where I was part of the team nominated for two New York Emmy Awards for work with InStyle Magazine. I also freelance as a Production Designer and Director, with a recent short film I worked on premiering at the New York Latino Film Festival.

Back in Asheville, I co-founded Cat Fly Film Festival and served as its Creative Director from 2017–2023. I am passionate about diverse storytelling and authentic queer representation in all the work that I do. The skills, mentorship, and community I found at UNC Asheville continue to shape the way I work today."

@madsrich

Leslie Frempong is a photographer, videographer and designer with a passion for visual storytelling and transforming vague ideas into eye-catching creative solutions. She has a demonstrated history leading art direction for various projects, along with overseeing creative development and design processes. She developed a strong interest in media and advertising, garnering 15+ invitations to speak at national & international conferences over the last 5 years.

Emmanuel Figaro is a photographer and videographer based in Asheville, NC.  His creative tools of choice are a camera and computer and he enjoys creating portraits of other people and filming videos that visually inspire others.  Through his New Media degree he also found an appreciation for creating in graphic design and motion graphics. He loves to laugh and incorporate humor into many of his projects. 

Clara Murray works remotely as a full-time Freelance Animator, Illustrator and Designer. Having spent her first few post-grad years as a Junior Designer for Adult Swim Digital, Clara has since worked as Lead Creative for Back to Oz (a music video for Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine),  Background Designer for HBO Max’s Buster & TJ, and more. Clara has also been working collaboratively with LA-based creative power group [REDACTED EMOTIONS] since January 2021 doing claymation and compositing for the web series The Ember Knight Show. Present-day, Clara is working directly with artists and musicians on a handful of music videos, and will soon be traveling to LA to work on a stop-motion animated pilot.

Anitra Griffin is pursuing her Master’s in Information Technology with a concentration in human centered design at UNC Charlotte. She also works full time at Wells Fargo as a front end developer in her team. She feels her experience in the New Media department has prepared her to meet the hard deadlines in her sprints.

Caleb Spradlin is a software developer for NASA’s Data Science Group located at Goddard Space Flight Center. Past and current work has included developing machine learning models, developing GPU-accelerated high resolution image data structures, developing software to collect and manage remote sensing data, and creating advanced interactive dashboards and visualizations for remote sensing data. Scientific applications of this work include using machine learning in mapping and analyzing physical systems on Earth, crater detection on Enceladus, and classifying black holes.

Mallory Evans is currently working as a lead front-end designer/developer for an advertising agency in Tampa, FL. She spends her day-to-day working on web projects for various national brands. She has over 5 years of experience in the field, with a focus on UX/UI design and accessibility. Mallory loves to visualize information, making it easy for people to understand complex concepts. She graduated from UNC Asheville in 2018, majoring in New Media with a double concentration in Video Art and Interactive Media.

Rayven Van Kalker graduated from UNC Asheville in 2019 with a BA in New Media, concentration in animation, and a BS in Chemistry. After graduating, she continued to work on personal projects for her storyboard portfolio and became a story intern at Pixar Animation Studios. She currently works as a professional story artist in the film and animation industry and is based in Los Angeles, California.

Santiago Bonillo is a 2019 New Media graduate who took his skills into the public sector. Using the skills learned through the web & interactive design emphasis area, Santiago has managed websites and content creation for a number of nonprofits and government entities. He currently works in the US Senate Placement Office assisting Senators and committees to fill a myriad of roles in Congress. Santiago also develops graphical content for the Senate Sergeant at Arms. He is currently working towards a master’s in public administration.