We’re proud of the more than 2,600 students who will be walking across the stage this year as part of the university’s Spring Convocation ceremonies June 16 through 19 at the Winspear Centre, including almost 200 from the Faculty of Fine Arts and Communication.

Here, future designers, artists, actors, producers and journalists look back on their time at MacEwan and toward their bright futures.

Daniel Larry Anderson

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Arts and Cultural Management

I already had two MacEwan diplomas – Theatre Arts and Arts and Cultural Management – when I came back in 2023 to complete my degree in Arts and Cultural Management. After 18 years working retail, I needed a fresh start; a Bachelor of Fine Arts just made sense, and guidance from Rose Ginther and support from Rayanne Haines made that transition much easier.

I learned a lot about community building and engagement – the toughest aspects that arts organizations are facing today. Working part-time jobs with the Edmonton Arts Council’s Street Activation Team and the box office in Allard Hall gave me great insights into public and in-house audiences, which I could reflect on in my course assignments. I could see for myself why the arts matter for the neighbourhoods we served and how we made an impact on community members.

For our INTA 412: Interdisciplinary Arts Project final assignment, our class did a group project. We set up a craft table for anyone to come and create art, such as poetry, model-making, music composition and dancing. But participants didn’t get to choose the art form. Some did art in a discipline they had never done before. As each person finished, they would step through a hoop, and we would announce to the growing group of interested participants, “We have an artist here!” and everyone would cheer. Some had never been called an “artist” before and this was deeply moving for them.

I have been accepted into the Master of Arts in Community Engagement (MACE) program at the University of Alberta and am starting in September of this year.

Kyana Gormsen

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Studio Arts

Studio arts is the only thing I have found that makes me happy and that I am also good at. My mom brought me to many art events and galleries throughout my early life and that opened the door to me seeing a future for myself in the art world.

There is a lot more to being part of the arts community than meets the eye, and that makes it less scary and more tangible to enter as a professional. So much of being in a studio arts degree is working in community to develop the best possible work, and my friends and I spent a lot of time bouncing ideas off each other and working on projects together.

All of my friends, family, co-workers and professors have made a difference during my time at MacEwan, so many of whom took time out of their day to show up to my grad show to support me!

Working at the university has been a series of surprising moments. I’m a front desk associate and, in just a few months, I found myself getting really comfortable with the university in a new way. I got to see a side of MacEwan that students don’t normally see – it feels special. I spend so much time at MacEwan now, I kind of feel like I should have a bed somewhere.

I am going to keep working with the university for the summer, both as a front desk associate and as a research assistant, and then try to get into an arts organization somewhere in the city. I am keeping my options open since it’s competitive out there. Eventually, I want to go back to school for a master’s degree, but I want to gain some experience first.

Josie May Hoffarth

Bachelor of Fine Arts
Dean’s Medal for Academic Excellence

I grew up trying a wide variety of activities but my favourites were always those connected to music. As I grew older, musical theatre became my biggest passion. MacEwan’s degree program, where you train in all three disciplines – singing, dancing and acting – and have numerous performance opportunities, is one of the best in Canada. I was excited to get accepted here!

The highlight of my academic experience was taking on the role of Cassie in A Chorus Line. We had the best creative team and a supportive, committed class. I learned so much during the rehearsal process and had the best time performing on stage.

I applied for and received a student grant to travel to New York to interview several artists – an incredible experience where I learned a lot about myself and gained wisdom that I’m excited to share with up-and-coming artists.

Moving into the next chapter of my life, I plan to pursue performing and choreographing. I am looking forward to exploring and finding ways to be involved in the Edmonton arts community.

Cristine Jimenez

Graphic Design Diploma

I’m passionate about design because I love helping people solve problems. It’s become second nature. As the foundation of my family, I’m used to finding 20 back-up solutions when the first plan fails.

My high school advanced placement art teacher also pushed me toward design, believing it would challenge me to grow rather than refine what was already easy for me – fine arts.

If life had gone to plan, I would’ve finished on schedule and taken every course that inspired me. Instead, life-altering challenges forced me to pause and work full-time to support myself and my family. I had to sacrifice the electives I really wanted and excelled in for what fit around my job, caregiving duties and ground-zero moments.

Allard Hall kept me anchored and inspired. Walking past student work displayed in the hallways made even the rough days easier. I’m motivated by the idea that one day my own projects could inspire someone else walking those same halls.

Submitting my Design Studio III project On Track for our social justice campaign, visual identity design and semiotics assignment was a turning point. My own experience inspired it, so I felt deeply connected to it and genuinely satisfied when I finished it. That project proved that setbacks don’t erase my potential. Resilience, not perfect timing, defines what I can achieve.

In the future, I hope to apply my problem-solving mindset and creative skills to build accessible, user-centred solutions that make people’s lives easier and turn real challenges into functional, human-centred work.

Kelsie Marie Howlett

Bachelor of Communication Studies, Journalism

I have always wanted to help people. Throughout my life this goal has taken many forms.

After graduating with an English degree during the pandemic, when jobs were scarce, I took time to re-evaluate what I wanted to do with my life. Watching the news with my family during that time – when even the littlest bits of information helped people make sense of the situation – led me to pursue journalism.

As a mature student, I was afraid that I would have a hard time fitting in. Then I met Raynesh Ram – also a mature student. He encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone and took me to my first contributor meeting for The Griff, which led to my first published story. That gave me the confidence to take opportunities, which helped advance my career before even finishing the program.

Getting hired as the host and producer for the Research Recast(ed) podcast, created by the Office of Research Services, was the highlight of my time at MacEwan. During my two years in the position, I got to meet so many interesting people, all while working on my interviewing, editing and recording skills. I believe this opportunity helped me get a field placement as an associate producer for The Globe and Mail’s daily news podcast The Decibel and a summer internship with CBC News Edmonton, which I’m hoping will turn into something permanent.

Ryan Johnson

Bachelor of Communication Studies, Professional Communication

Sports have always been a staple in my life, and a career in the sports industry is something I’ve dreamed of for a very long time.

In Jaelyn Birch’s BCSC 423 course, I had the opportunity to work on the CCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship and the Alberta Country Music Awards, gaining real-world work experience in the communications field. It was an absolute pleasure.

My family was definitely an inspiration throughout my time at MacEwan. They were always very supportive of my studies and had my back throughout this process. The friends I made at MacEwan were also very helpful throughout my time here. It felt like we were all going through this process together, helping each other whenever we could.

I remember sitting in my very first lecture, thinking about the many years ahead – I was foolish to think they would be long. It seems like I blinked and now I’m graduating.

Going forward, my goal is to use my experiences and MacEwan degree to secure a position in the sports industry.

Kelsey Lynn Kendrick

Faculty of Fine Arts and Communication
Digital Experience Design Post-Diploma Certificate

I had been considering a career transition for a while, but nothing I looked into felt quite right until I heard about the Post-Diploma Digital Experience Design Certificate (DXD). A lot of my professional work was inching towards user experience design and service design, but I simply didn’t have the credentials to back myself up.

I love that this program builds on a previous degree and can be completed in one year. It felt like a very time-effective way to add something really significant to my career and skill set.

I love creating innovative solutions to problems and immersive experiences. User experience design is so widely applicable to so many other industries, and it’s opening up a lot of possibilities for me.

Mike Kendrick is the senior studio technician in the design department – and my husband. He was the first to encourage me to apply. Carpooling together each morning was a huge joy and huge help (not to mention all the moral and tech support). Plus, I got to see firsthand how much he does for MacEwan students rather than just hearing about it after the fact.

Being the “mature” student in the classroom was a very funny experience. Since many DXD classes touch on internet history, being able to tell my younger classmates what Napster and Nexopia were really like was very memorable.

Right now, I am capping off my studies with an internship to build my skills and portfolio. After this, my hope is to apply what I’ve learned in the heritage field, where I have worked throughout my career. Being able to bring greater accessibility, better use of tech and inventive problem-solving to heritage and history is something I look forward to.

Ryder  J. McGinnis

Bachelor of Music, Composition
Music Diploma, Performance
Dean's Medal - Diploma

I applied to MacEwan on a whim after spending the year after my first undergrad doing golf course maintenance. I had heard many great things about the music program. So, when my union in Vancouver offered a fine arts scholarship, I applied and was accepted into the Bachelor of Music program. The rest is history.

To me, music is the ultimate puzzle. I love how it blends problem-solving with the act of creation. After my second year, I decided to change majors from vocal performance to composition. It added a year to my studies, but I’m very grateful I did it because it opened up more career possibilities and scratched an itch for problem-solving and nerding out over music theory.

Photo: Racquel Affleck

I’ve tried to develop as many skill sets as possible so I can work in music across a variety of roles. And one of the best things about MacEwan was learning from working professionals in my field. John McMillan, Olivia Street, Mallory Chipman, Devin Hart, Emilie LeBel, Allan Gilliland – and so many others – have all been such an inspiration.

Currently, I’m co-composing a musical for Fringe 2027 about suffragettes in 1916 Manitoba. I’m also very excited to be going to Montreal in June for a composer’s workshop with Quatuor Bozzini.

Leili Rastad

Bachelor of Music, Recording and Production

Music has always been my biggest passion. I grew up in Iran and started playing classical violin at 10. As I grew as a musician, I wanted to expand beyond classical training into jazz and popular music. MacEwan felt like the right place to grow artistically.

I never expected to focus on recording and production, but my first solo recording session is a moment I’ll never forget. When I pressed record and heard everything come together, I realized this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

I discovered how much I enjoy capturing other artists’ music and helping shape it into a polished final product. I also loved applying those same skills to my own work, which made the process even more meaningful.

The work-integrated learning experience in my final year was challenging, but it brought together everything I had learned and pushed me to grow as an engineer and producer. I recorded, produced, mixed and mastered an album for a close friend, along with several smaller projects and an Indigenous drum circle, all as part of my thesis work.

Pursuing my studies and music career without knowing anyone here was challenging. But I’ve met some incredible people and my parents have been my biggest inspiration. Their encouragement has been a constant foundation for me, and I truly wouldn’t have been able to complete my degree without them.

I’ve been writing and recording my own original music, and I’m excited to continue developing and sharing it. My goal is to keep growing as both a recording engineer and an artist and to release more of my work in the near future.