Congratulating Our Spring 2023 Undergraduate Certificate Recipients
Congratulations to our Spring 2023 Undergraduate Certificate graduates! They played important roles in the BCNM ecosystem, and we are thrilled to have been apart of their new media pursuits here at Cal. We remain in awe of their hardwork and dedication and wish them well in their future pursuits.
Annie Pan
Annie Pan is graduating student with simultaneous degrees in Global Business and Interdisciplinary Studies in Art, Experience Design, and Psychology, along with a Certificate in New Media. Her multidisciplinary background allows her to merge art, psychology, and business to design impactful experiences, products, and creative technologies that bridge physical and digital spaces. With a deep understanding of the emotional impact of design, Annie is passionate about creating visually engaging and emotionally resonant experiences that improve people's lives. In addition to her creative explorations in new media, Annie is committed to using her Global Business degree to explore design innovations on a global scale. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on developing culturally-relevant and inclusive creative design interventions for emotional wellness. Through her work, Annie hopes to create positive social change by leveraging the power of design to foster empathy, connection, and well-being.
Omeed Etemadi
Omeed Etemadi is graduating with a BA in Digital Media Studies, accompanied by an Undergraduate Certificate in New Media, awarded by the BCNM. Omeed feels that being involved with the BCNM provided him with a sense of community at Berkeley. He is grateful to have worked alongside the most open minded and creative individuals Cal has to offer. At Berkeley, Omeed pursued an interdisciplinary curriculum, exploring the intersection of STEM, the arts, and social inequalities. He utilized creative technologies to bridge the gap between these fields. During his time here, Omeed had the honor of working as an instructor for Sample Mode, a course offered in collaboration with Berkeley Changemaker® and Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation. This course taught both underprivileged Bay Area high school students and UC Berkeley students how to use music production software, and also how to build their own music production hardware from scratch. Sample Mode gave students an opportunity to work in a Berkeley makerspace environment, and also provided them with a community and platform to express themselves creatively while showcasing their talents. Omeed hopes to continue teaching future iterations of this course at Cal, and he seeks to keep providing outlets for creatives of all ages to express themselves. Omeed is an artist, and more importantly a student of life. After graduation, he hopes to create meaningful new media works that will reflect his journey as the son of an immigrant single mother.
Silayan Camson
Silayan Camson (she/they) is a graduating senior with a focus on community storytelling and digital archiving. She served as the Editor-in-Chief of {m}aganda magazine and worked to bring the magazine back into print. Her work in creating the digital archive focused on viewing {m}aganda through a lens of regeneration and survival. Her community work with the campus and the digital archive also lead to the inclusion of {m}aganda magazine in an exhibit on Philippine Studies at the Bancroft library. She hopes to continue using new media, community storytelling, and digital archiving to open up the past as a place of dialogue and generative healing.
Sirui (Skylar) Chen
Sirui (Skylar) Chen is graduating in Spring 2023 with a BA in Media Studies (concentration in digital media) and the Undergraduate Certificate in New Media. As an international student influenced by multiple cultures, Sirui has developed a profound interest in exploring the realms of cultural limbo, self-identity, and the transformative power of technology in fostering human connections through diverse art forms. Throughout her academic journey, she has honed a critical global perspective and acquired skills in digital media research, film production and graphic design. These talents have been applied in various industries and events, such as creating her own short films, assisting in organizing international film festivals, and engaging in digital marketing for fashion and dining brands. After graduation, Sirui is eager to expand her knowledge and skills in new media. She aims to utilize them to delve further into sociocultural themes of her interest by means of storytelling through arts and technology.