Graduation Spotlight: Emma Krilowicz, Visualization
Emma Krilowicz grew up with not only a passion for drawing, but also an equal appreciation for science and math. She figured engineering would be path to pursue in college to combine these interests.
But the Plano native’s father was exploring the Texas A&M University website one day and stumbled upon a different idea.
“‘There’s a really cool major called visualization,’” she recalled him saying. “‘It’s art but it also has to do with computer science and requires you to use math and science. I think you would love to keep doing all of that for a career.”
With her interest piqued, Krilowicz came to campus for a tour during her sophomore year of high school. Guided by Barbara Klein, instructional associate professor, she was able to talk to students and see classes in action. She enjoyed it so much she visited twice more before graduating and enrolling at Texas A&M.
Now Krilowicz will be honored as a distinguished student at a Friday afternoon graduation ceremony for the School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts at Geren Auditorium, then receive her diploma later that night at Reed Arena.
Among the highlights of Krilowicz’s years in the visualization program is her time in the Animation Vertical Studio, and the Rendering and Shading course with instructional assistant professors Caleb Kicklighter and Emily Bujnoch, along with DreamWorks Animation’s Jeff Nichols, a Texas A&M graduate.
A key experience was the Summer Industry Course in 2022, a 10-week class led by instructional assistant professors Mayet Andreassen and Kicklighter. Industry veterans also help to guide students in creating animated shorts, and mentors included DreamWorks’ Amber Ackley, Catherine Chooljian, Jon Gutman, Alex Timchenko, Megan Walker and Dave Walvoord. Ackley, Timchenko, Walker and Walvoord are Texas A&M graduates.
Krilowicz and her teammates — Daniel Arellano, Andrea Ballesteros, Ben Moder, Dominic Nguyen and Skylar Thomas — created the creepy-doll short “Forsaken” during the course, which recently won the best time-based media award at Viz-a-GoGo on April 27.
“It was definitely a lot of work,” she said of the summer days that could last from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. or later. “At the same time, it was so much fun. We really bonded over that project.”
Another benefit to the course for Krilowicz was getting her first experience with grooming, as in creating hair for the animated character. Walker’s encouragement helped Krilowicz to find “where my passions lie,” and realize her interest in grooming and look development as a career.
“Through that, I now know where I want to go,” she said.
The course and the program place a heavy emphasis on community, Krilowicz said, and sharing different ways of solving problems. The students “grew tremendously” throughout the summer course, she said.
“One of the most significant benefits of visualization is the opportunity to collaborate with classmates,” she said. “It leads to a lot of really great friendships and a lot of growth. You learn so much just by talking with the people around you; getting critiqued by them and seeing what they think of your ideas and where you could take them.”
Earning the Distinguished Student Award is “a great honor,” Krilowicz said. She credits her professors within the program “who have given so much to me,” and her industry mentors.
“I’m beyond thankful for it,” she said. “When Aggies go into the industry, they like to give back. These mentors have been a huge part of my experience. They’ve given me insight into the industry and what it’s like, and they’ve also sacrificed so much of their time to help me out. Their mentorship has been an inspiration to me and has reinforced my desire to guide and support other artists.
“That’s another part of the program that’s so great: the ability to get to reach out to all of them. And they’ll respond — because they’re Aggies.”
