Alumni Stories

CCAD alums Ryan Green and Fawn Veerasunthorn traipsed unconventional paths and endured detours to careers as artists at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Learn how they did it, what it’s like to work in Mickey’s world, and what from their time at CCAD they use every day.

Vince Notaroberto (Advertising & Graphic Design, 1971) came to CCAD to find community with people like himself—those unseen. At CCAD, he built a chosen family. After a thrilling career, he’s making a gift to ensure generations of students have the same opportunities.

A short about Emily Dickinson has won a prestigious Telly Award—and Columbus College of Art & Design filmmakers helped make it happen.

Meet Serenity Strull, a Columbus College of Art & Design Film & Video alum carving her own creative career path as an editorial illustrator for the BBC.

Headquartered in Columbus, like many of the world’s biggest retail brands, Bath & Body Works has hired a number of talented, skilled CCAD students and alumni over the years—creative thinkers who have found professional success and fulfillment in their work.

Each year, CCAD recognizes some of our outstanding alumni with our Alumni Awards. And this year, we were aided in that process by our inaugural 12-member CCAD Alumni Advisory Board, who aided in selecting the winners from the pool of nominees submitted by our community members.

The Columbus Arts Festival is back in 2023. This year’s festival, presented by the American Electric Power Foundation and produced by the Greater Columbus Arts Council, is Friday, June 9–Sunday, June 11, on Columbus’ downtown riverfront.

Columbus College of Art & Design alum Robert Coles (Retail Advertising, 1995) has established the Coles Diversity Impact Scholarship Fund to strengthen access and opportunities for incoming students at CCAD.

Shorts (Industrial Design, 2006) is the founder/creator-in-chief of Columbus creative agency Artfluential; in addition, he founded the Maroon Arts Group (a collective promoting Black culture and art); has a newsletter, Shut Up and Create; and, with fellow alum—and CCAD Trustee Corey Favor (Illustration, 2003)—is co-founder of artist conference Creative Control Fest.

Hulu is dropping season three of its Black History Month series Your Attention Please in the first week of February 2022, and among those Black innovators featured this season is none other than Columbus College of Art & Design grad and children’s book illustrator Keturah Bobo (Fine Arts, 2006).

Ron Miller, a 1970 CCAD Illustration graduate, is an award-winning illustrator and author, known for his sci-fi and astronomical art. He works with NASA, National Geographic, and others. His latest book is "Natural Satellites: The Book of Moons."

The CCAD community will cheer on alum Dan Scanlon (Illustration, 1998) at the 93rd Academy Awards. Scanlon's "Onward" is nominated for Best Animated Feature.