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Creative Students, Alums Come Together to Connect

By: Jeff Joiner | April 9, 2024

Person with a brown hoodie holds a stylus on a tablet.
A UTD student practices his animation skills before the start of a creative careers networking event.
Person with a brown hoodie holds a stylus on a tablet.
A UTD student practices his animation skills before the start of a creative careers networking event.
Person with a brown hoodie holds a stylus on a tablet.
A UTD student practices his animation skills before the start of a creative careers networking event.

Students and alumni recently gathered at the University’s Comet-Con celebration for a networking event focused on exploring strategies for working in creative industries.

Organized by the Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology, the event featured a panel discussion with industry leaders. University faculty and staff were also on hand to help students with resume and portfolio reviews and to discuss tips for job hunting and collaborating with the UT Dallas alumni network.

Joe Porritt MFA’18 said he came to the event to meet new people in his field and reconnect with friends at the University. A 3D rigger who works with animators creating digital characters, Porritt lost his job last year during the Hollywood actors’ strike and is looking to make new connections through his alma mater.

“I’m hoping to expand and strengthen my network, and I’d like to meet students and pay it forward by offering them advice based on what I’ve experienced,” Porritt said. “I know that to get to where I am now there were a lot of people who helped and gave me a leg up so I’m hoping to help some students as well.”

Senior animation student Christa Gallegos came to the event to meet people and connect with possible job prospects. She plans to graduate with her bachelor’s degree from the Bass School in May.

“I’m looking to meet more animation artists, and specifically I’m interested in meeting people who are already working in the industry,” said Gallegos. “I made some cards to hand out with links to my portfolio, and I hope to add people on LinkedIn and get in contact with them afterwards.”

Bass School Dean Nils Roemer moderated the panel discussion, also addressing how quickly technology is changing in the arts and how that is impacting the way the school approaches teaching.

Jonathan Campos (left) holding a microphone while speaking. Deb Gelman (right) looks on.
Jonathan Campos BA’03 (left) speaks about how technology is impacting creative industries while fellow panelist Deb Gelman listens.

“Between what we study and what we ultimately end up doing as a career is not a clear path,” Roemer said. “The one connector of these two things is our commitment, passion, curiosity and our willingness to explore new things. We’re seeing technology changing so quickly and because of that we’re preparing our students for career paths that continuously evolve and change.”

The group talked about the one technological innovation that everyone on the panel agreed would have tremendous impact on the arts and creative industries – generative artificial intelligence. Though all agreed AI is a huge unknown now, none on the panel said that they saw it as the job killer that many predict.

“Creativity is so, so important when it comes to all new technology because it’s never about this new tool that’s coming out,” Jonathan Campos BA’03 said. “It’s the person who uses it and how they use that tool that matters. The warning I have for everyone is don’t hide from new tools because it’s not going to be the tools that replace anyone in this room, but it’s going to be someone else who uses those tools better than you do. Understand them and be the most creative person in the room.”