Students Excel at Creative Summit
Fifteen Texas A&M University-Commerce Visual Communications students represented the university at the 27thCreative Summit April 5 and 6. This event is a creative design competition for college students to submit their artwork and campaigns to a panel of judges for the chance to win cash prizes and scholarships.
The Creative Summit was founded by A&M-Commerce alumnus, Chris Hill, who also taught for fifteen years at Texas State University. Hill hoped to further the knowledge and creative spirit of his students with this opportunity. After twenty-seven years, the Creative Summit has continued its founder's original purpose as it has grown into a prestigious student competition that is attended by students and professionals from across the United States. This year the Summit showcased speakers from across the field of Visual Communications.
Dana Arnett, CEO of VSA Partners; Aaron Duffy from 1stAveMachine; Analisa Goodin of Visual Catch; photographer Francois Robert; Yarn Bomber Magda Sayeg; Rick Valicenti from 3st/Thirst; and the manager of the Design Team for Facebook, Brian Singer, were all featured.
2,200 entries were submitted by over thirty universities nationwide. Out of these, only 120 pieces were chosen, fifteen from A&M-Commerce students. Eight large awards were also given to the top contestants, and four of them went to A&M-Commerce students: Christopher Griggers, Amanda Crumley, Simon Stipp and Katherine Beach. In addition, Christopher Griggers was chosen by Brian Singer to receive the Creative Summit Mentorship Award which provides the recipient with the chance to choose which city in the U.S. that might be his or her dream destination for a job. The Creative Summit then sets up a mentorship for that student in his or her desired location to meet highly respected designers and study with them.
“Competing in national student shows is such an important facet of the educational process for our students,” said Lee Whitmarsh, Director of Visual Communications. “The VisCom program's consistent national recognition is a reflection of these students' strong conceptual thinking, great visual communication and hard work. I could not be more proud of their wonderful accomplishments. They are a true University success story.”
The Creative Summit is a non-profit organization, and all proceeds are applied toward cash scholarships for students who have shown outstanding work. For more information on the Creative Summit or Visual Communications at A&M-Commerce visithttp://www.creativesummit.com/ or https://www.tamuc.edu/viscom/.