Congratulations FEA Class of 2022!
Please join us in recognizing all of our
Film & Electronic Arts 2022 Graduates
A message from our department chair...
To the FEA Class of 2022,
I have been asked to write a few paragraphs of inspiration to our graduating students, but I find myself at a loss for words. I’ve spent days trying to figure out why I’m having so much trouble jotting down a few inspirational platitudes to send you on your way. This morning, I finally figured out why.
You have inspired me.
How can I write an inspirational message to a group of students who have so profoundly inspired me? Those of you who are graduating this year spent the core of your undergraduate education in some version of a COVID-altered environment. Many of your foundational courses were taught online. Some of you never met your peers face-to-face until the start of this school year. And yet, through it all, you worked hard, completed your assignments, and collaborated to tell compelling stories on the page and the screen.
Here are a few of the things that you have taught me:
- Resilience – Never before have I seen a group of students who were forced to cope with this amount of trauma. Most of you needed a break, or a helping hand, at some point during this journey, but like Dory in Finding Nemo, you just kept swimming.
- Perseverance – Not only were you resilient, but you also overcame so many obstacles to complete your work this year. Some of those obstacles were in your personal life, some in your work life, and some were caused by sudden changes of leadership or insurance requirements in this department. You broke down every barrier in your way.
- Kindness – Even after all the obstacles you faced, you still found it in your hearts to treat each other with kindness and respect – and maybe that’s the most important lesson of all.
Thank you for these lessons. I will carry them with me always and hope to instill them in each subsequent generation of students in this department.
The faculty and staff are so proud of what you’ve accomplished – even when the only cast you had to work with was yourself and your only equipment was the camera on your phone. You’ve learned that stories are important. Think about where we all turn during the toughest of times. During quarantines or online learning. We turn to Netflix. To Hulu. To the shows that comfort us and the movies that inspire us. Now it’s your turn to carry the torch as the next generation of storytellers. And we can’t wait to watch what you’ll create next.
Congratulations, FEA Class of 2022!
Adam Moore
Chair, Film & Electronic Arts Department
