#RinglingTalent
We'll get you there.
Ringling College’s talented art and design students and graduates are more in demand than ever before. Why?
Because there is no limit to what Ringling College graduates can do. Our alumni go on to animate award-winning films, exhibit their work in world-class museums and galleries, and design spaces, experiences, and digital assets experienced by millions of users every single day.
Our graduates are business executives, entrepreneurs, creative directors, and CEOs. They work for the CIA, General Motors, with sports teams, nonprofits, in the medical industry, and at tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon.
Ringling College is preparing its students – in every major – for the transformative evolution taking place in the creative economy. The opportunities are limitless.
Our alumni are everywhere
Our Brightest Stars
Our alumni are defining success in their industries.
Bailey Maher ’23
Major: Visual Studies
Bailey Maher ’23, has joined the Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products team as an art and design intern.
“This has been my lifelong dream and I am very grateful and extremely honored for this amazing opportunity. I also want to say a very big thank you to everyone in my life who has supported and encouraged me to always follow my dreams, especially my wonderful professors and mentors here at Ringling College.”
Ethan Gathman ’22
Major: Film
Ethan Gathman ’22 is interning as a video editor with FCB Global. He will focus primarily on editing commercials for the Chicago-based marketing communications company.
“The one thing I love more than filmmaking is monsters. Getting the chance to combine the two of them here at Ringling College has been a dream come true.”
Today's creative leaders
Today’s leaders started just like you – finding their path and making it work. Let their stories inspire you!
Juniper (Jiana) Johnson ’22
Major: Creative Writing
Jiana Johnson ’22, a recent creative writing graduate, is starting her career as a copywriting intern for Disney this summer.
“Ringling College has heightened the “go-getter” in me. I would not know half the people in the industry if it wasn’t for my amazing faculty, peers, and friends.”
Nikhita Buddhiraju ’22
Major: Motion Design
Nikhita Buddhiraju ’22 is working as a full-time designer and animator at Troika. Troika is a creative branding studio specializing in entertainment, media, and sports.
“Ringling’s motion design department has taught me so much over these four years. I owe it all to my amazing professors and friends who helped me along the way. Being a motion designer at Ringling College helped me experiment and find what I like to do best.”
Ciera Chase ’22
Major: Motion Design
Ciera Chase ’22 is interning at Troika, a creative branding studio specializing in entertainment, media, and sports.
“As soon as I discovered the motion design program at Ringling College, I knew that was where I belonged! During my time at Ringling, I’ve met so many incredible people that continue to inspire me every day. Not to mention, the faculty are truly amazing and have really pushed me to grow as an artist.”
Sage Sutton-Hall ’22
Major: Visual Studies
Sage Sutton-Hall ’22 is working in Orlando as a 3D modeling intern with the Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products team. Her duties include developing a wide range of content from 2D renderings (style guide assets, packaging art, and character art) to digital 3D models of classic Disney characters.
“I absolutely loved my time [at Ringling College]. I’ve learned so much and made so many wonderful friends, but I am also super excited to be moving on to the next stage of my life.”
Collin McMinn ’22
Major: Graphic Design
St. Petersburg native Collin McMinn ’22 is putting his degree to work as a digital designer for Feld Entertainment. In his new position, McMinn is creating digital assets for multimedia use and promotional material for some of the company’s most popular events/brands: Monster Jam, Disney on Ice, and more.
“The friends I made here at Ringling College who made me feel welcomed and appreciated made all the difference.”
Alex Levielle ’23
Major: Graphic Design
Alex Leveille ’23 is interning as a junior graphic designer for Dunn & Co., an advertising agency based in Tampa, Florida. He’ll use his design skills to tackle a multitude of projects.
Julie Bove ’23
Major: Graphic Design
Graphic Design student Julie Bove ’23 is interning at Studio BCC, a creative agency in Sarasota, Florida.
Jessica Buck ’23
Major: Motion Design
Jessica Buck ’23 is interning with Scholar. She will be working primarily in 3D, including modeling, lighting, texturing, and animating, using Cinema4D and Redshift.
Vivian Osness ’24
Major: Computer Animation
Vivian Osness ’24 is interning at Pixar Animation Studios as a part of the Pixar Undergraduate program. The Rochester, New York native is working with modeling, shading, rigging, FX, layout, set dressing, and simulation alongside the technical directors at Pixar.
“The professors at Ringling College are phenomenal, specifically my professors Paul Downs and Bryan User who taught me everything I know about the computer animation process and pushed me to execute my ideas to the best of my ability.”
Nickela Winfield ’23
Major: Graphic Design
Nickela Winfield ‘23 is working as a graphic design intern at Drybar, a salon chain based in Irvine, California. Winfield will put her skills to use designing packaging and visual merchandising for Drybar products.
Amer Kobaslija, ’03
Artist
In 2003, Amer Kobaslija graduated from Ringling College with a BFA in painting and printmaking and went on to earn his MFA in painting at Montclair State University in New Jersey. He then launched a career as a successful artist, represented by galleries in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Paris, and his works have been reviewed and printed in publications such as The New York Times, Art in America, ArtNews, New York Magazine, and The San Francisco Chronicle.
In 2013, Amer was awarded a prestigious fellowship by the 2013 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, selected from a group of 3,000 applicants for his on-going project painting the earthquake and tsunami-devastated town of Kesennuma, Japan, and its reconstruction. Currently, Amer also teaches at Gettysburg College and lives with his wife, Akiko, and their puppy, Tito, in New York City.
Matthew Holler, '11
Matthew Holler Photography
Founder
“Ringling College of Art and Design provided me with a wealth of information to advance my abilities as an artist and allowed me to focus on what I love as a photographer. I created bonds with my classmates, professors, and the community that lasted beyond graduation. Our professors encouraged us to get out into the community and work with people, and they didn’t coddle us. We knew we were heading out into the real world, and how hard that can be, but we also knew we had a strong safety net behind us. But the core of being a student at Ringling is education. You have to fully commit yourself to the work, the education, and all the insanity that comes along with it. The feeling is incredibly rewarding.”
Matthew is currently working as a fashion and portrait photographer based out of NYC and FL.
Pixar
For over a decade, Pixar has visited the Ringling College campus annually, doing artist and recruiter presentations and reviewing student portfolios.
Today, more than 24 Ringling alumni now work at Pixar.
Pixar representatives participate in class critiques, attend student exhibitions, and even provide special exclusive screenings of some of the company’s most iconic films. The company’s recruiters say the Ringling campus possesses a special energy they find nowhere else.
Mike Yates
Story Artist
“My role is to first help visualize the script. I get to turn words into pictures to help communicate what the director wants. It’s so rewarding to contribute ideas to films that are enjoyed around the world.”
Mike Bidinger
Fix/Crowds Animator
“Going from being a recent college graduate to an intern to a full-time Pixar employee was unbelievably smooth thanks to the great people here. I love the company culture and the team-oriented mentality.”
Adam Campbell
Story Artist
“I love working with some of the most talented artists in the world, helping the director realize his or her vision. Plus, you can’t beat playing a round of ping pong in the company atrium.”
Wieden+Kennedy
“We always enjoy our recruiting trips to Ringling. Meeting with such a talented pool of seniors is refreshing and inspiring. The students that we’ve had the opportunity to hire at Wieden+Kennedy are some of the most hard-working, dedicated, and capable of any recent graduates around. Ringling instills an incredible work ethic in their students and does a great job preparing them for the real world. They immediately fit into the fast-paced life of advertising with a great balance of humility, confidence, and passion.”
-Lis Moran, Studio Manager
Daniel Moreno
Junior Motion Designer
Alex Sanchez
Jr. Studio Designer
James Heredia
Motion Designer + Prototyping Creative
“I love working with some of the most talented artists in the world, helping the director realize his or her vision. Plus, you can’t beat playing a round of ping pong in the company atrium.”
Gensler
Elisabeth Croy
Designer
Dana Verbosh
Interior Designer
Maggie Marlin
Interior Designer
Join the Ranks
These global creative giants recruit from Ringling College year after year!
Recruiters from major creative companies like Electronic Arts, Disney, and Hasbro often discover our talented students and alumni through internships and experiential learning opportunities, like the Collaboratory, ART Network, and the Design Center.
EA
“When we see the Ringling degree attached to a candidate, we immediately take notice.”
-EA recruiter
Electronic Arts, one of the leading interactive entertainment companies in the world, looks to Ringling College for the latest and greatest in creative talent. Currently, EA employs 31 Ringling students and alumni as lead character animators, concept artists, illustrators, interface designers, and more. Every year sends recruiters to campus because they know our Game Art and Computer Animation programs are among the best in the world.
Disney
“We have been recruiting from Ringling for 20 years now. A large percentage of our staff are Ringling alumni, and we appreciate the quality of the people we get from the school.”
– Mike Sullivan, Disney Design Group
Ringling alumni and students work with Disney in an incredible array of capacities, through The Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney Animation Studio, Walt Disney World, and more!
Hasbro
“This school is doing an amazing job preparing students for a great career…I’m blown away by Ringling’s level of talent, the professionalism of its staff, the great instructors, and the fantastic creative energy.”
– Marc Millspaugh, Vice President
Today, Hasbro employs 28 Ringling graduates, 18 of which are long-term employees who have remained with the company for many years. Selected by Fortune Magazine as one of the “100 Best Companies to For” for three years running, Hasbro continues to recruit creative talent from Ringling College year after year. In fact, last year, Hasbro was named Ringling College’s Recruiter of the Year after hiring nine graduates.
Are you an alumni and want to reconnect with Ringling?
