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Gina Erardi  

Gina Erardi   

Graduating Year: 2020

Education: BFA Painting

“I chose NKU's Visual Arts program first and foremost because of its professors. I researched their personal artwork and found a diverse array of styles unified by their respective excellence. I believed that these artists and teachers could expand my perspective and lead me towards a path that would elevate my own unique skill set, which is exactly what happened. I am eternally grateful for Kevin Muente, JeeEun Lee, Marc Leone, and Steven Finke.”

Gina recently brought her mural design for the Newport Flood Wall on Dave Cowens Drive to completion for the city's 225th Anniversary! This mural, entitled "Education Empowers", tells the story of the Southgate Street School; the original building stands today and is now the home of the Newport History Museum. It was the first and only school for Black children in Newport immediately following the Civil War. The 19-panel wall will eventually become a chronological timeline of Newport's rich history.

 


Charlotte (Charly) Kalfas

Oen Michael Hammonds  

Graduating Year: 1999

Education: BFA Graphic Design

Hammonds travels the globe as a design advocate and onboarding leader within IBM’s enormous design and engineering teams. In 2015, as part of Cincinnati Design Week, he conducted an in-class design workshop and spoke at NKU about his work in radical collaboration, user-centered empathy, and the legacy of IBM’s innovation-based culture that he has been integral in evolving. 

Oen was recently selected to be one of the jurors in . 

Career: Design Principal, Employee Experience Design at IBM


David Mack

Graduating Year: 1995

Education: BFA Graphic Design

David W. Mack is an American comic book artist and writer, known for his creator-owned series Kabuki and for co-creating with Joe Quesada the Marvel Comics superhero Echo. Early life Mack graduated from Ludlow High School in 1990, where he had written and acted in many of the school theatre productions. Mack earned scholarships to Â鶹´«Ă˝ for five years, a four-year scholarship based on his portfolio of art works, and in his fifth year the Dean's Scholarship for academics. He graduated in 1995 with a BFA in graphic design.


Jessica Holtman  

Jessica Holtman  

Graduating Year: 2019

Education: Spatial Arts

"Studying sculpture and installation at NKU, I fell in love with learning about as many tools, techniques, and materials as possible. As such, my artist experiences ranges in medium, scale, and aesthetic.
I work on murals, commissioned paintings, illustrations, personal figurative sculptures, and have found a recent interest in silicone based prosthetic, make-up, and masks. I want to learn as much as I can about anything that might come in handy with creating new works of art and so I've become a lot more adventurous in my material choices, working with urethane, resins, rubbers, and a variety of other cast-able materials. I want to combine these experiences and knowledge to continue to do things I've never done before. An upcoming adventure for me will be learning sewing and costuming. 
Above all else I enjoy working with the public, leading others on artist adventures, and becoming a tool for the public to experience creativity in their day to day lives. Over the past few years I've received grants and scholarships that have helped me achieve this, including the creation of a large permanently installed sculpture at the Newport Scholar House, funded in part through a grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women. If I can continue to have a positive effect on the lives of people through art and creation, I will continue to be happy. "

Career: Landscape artist at

Hollis Hammonds

Graduating Year: 1998

Education: BFA Drawing

Hollis Hammonds is a Kentucky born artist who has been living and working in Austin, Texas since 2007. Her work crosses media from drawing to sculptural installation and has been exhibited throughout the U.S. including solo exhibitions at Redux Contemporary Art Center in Charleston, SC; the Dishman Art Museum in Beaumont, TX; the Reed Gallery at the University of Cincinnati in OH; the Museum of Art at Southern Mississippi University in Hattiesburg, MS; the Hiestand Galleries at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio; Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX; and at Women and Their Work gallery in Austin, TX. 

Career: Associate Professor of Art and Chair of the Department of Visual Studies at St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX. 


Tyler Reed

Tyler Reed

Graduating Year: 2014

Education: BA Visual Communication Design

Tyler Reed (BA Visual Communication Design, 2014) was accepted into the — a program extended to give relief to creatives during the pandemic. Reed will be spending the month of August creating while using a beta version of Adobe Illustrator for iPad. Adobe selects creators for the program who are, “passionate about creating personally fulfilling work, sharing their journeys, and activating fellow creatives to craft the careers they want by empowering them with knowledge.”

Tyler is the creative mind behind the — a series of humorously illustrated creature characters. Reed was also , and . In addition to his RPC work, Reed is an illustrator for Brill Creative.

David Wischer

David Wischer

Graduating Year: 2000

Education: BFA Graphic Design

Landscape artist, sculpture, illustrator. Active in pursuing art grants and public projects such as large permanently installed sculpture at the Newport Scholar House, funded in part through a grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women.

Aside from teaching amazing Art and Design students at University of Kentucky as Assistant Professor of Digital and Print Media, David also currently has work in an online exhibition, FACT/itious, at . He'll also have work in the exhibition, This is America*, at in October. David earned an MFA in Studio Art from Purdue University in 2012. 
  

Why did you choose to study at NKU SOTA?

I grew up in small-town Western Kentucky, and was excited to study in an exciting Art program near a big city.

Laura Lamb

Laura Lamb

Graduating Year: 2021

Education:  Bachelor of Music in Performance (Instrumental)

Laura Lamb is an orchestral percussionist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has performed with the Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Akron, and Chautauqua Symphony Orchestras. She graduated from Â鶹´«Ă˝ with a Bachelors of Music degree in Percussion Performance in May 2021, and is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Percussion Performance at the Carnegie Mellon School of Music.

Laura has studied with Michael Culligan, Associate Principal Percussionist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Jeremy Branson and Chris Allen, members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and Paul Evans.

Laura has previously attended the Brevard Music Festival and the Chautauqua Festival Institution. Additionally, she is a recipient of the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts Scholarship and is also an Undergraduate Instrumental Music recipient of the Three Arts Scholarship Fund.

Stephanie Rosad

Stephanie Rosad

Graduating Year: 2019

Education: Bachelor of Arts, Music Audio Production

Stephanie is currently a performing artist. Appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on February 15, 2023 as a background vocalist for Nate Smith,
Arianna Ranieri

Arianna Ranieri

Graduating Year: 2017

Education: Bachelor of Music in Performance (Instrumental)

Career: Student at the School of Arts and Creative Industries at Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland

"My research project focuses on the development of my proposed, Community Instrumental Music Services for Rural Scotland (CIMSRS), (beginning the pilot with upper strings tuition), and measuring the effects of music tuition and education for mature pupils and members of the community, how culture in music and community will influence this project's development and execution, addressing the issue of those being excluded due to their location, and how the project can remain sustainable for local authorities to opt into, all contributing to making the defense for funding in music education bulletproof by widening the margin of beneficiaries."
Isaiah Reaves

Isaiah Reaves

Graduating Year: 2020

Education: BFA in Playwriting

Career: Award-Winning Playwright 

What they do: currently writing new plays and having his plays produced throughout the United States and United Kingdom.  

Necessary job skills: creativity, storytelling, research skills, strong work ethic, ability to work alone and collaboratively with others, have a passion for understanding other people and cultures  

Career Path: writing and producing plays in college, submitting plays to festivals, attending graduate school in playwriting 

Kayla Pecchioni

Kayla Pecchioni

Graduating Year: 2014

Education: BFA in Theatre Performance – Musical Theatre Track

Career: Professional Actress on Broadway

What they do: currently performing in the new Broadway musical, Some Like It Hot

Necessary job skills: strong acting, singing, and dancing technique, creativity, strong work ethic, ability to work alone and collaboratively with others, persistence, and a positive attitude.

Career Path: community and semi-professional theatre, regional theatre, cruise lines, national tours, and Broadway 

Andrew Bacigalupo

Andrew Bacigalupo

Graduating Year: 2007

Education: BFA in Theatre Performance

Career: Actor’s Equity Association Stage Manager

What they do: Currently the Production Stage Manager for the first national tour of Disney’s Aladdin 

Necessary job skills: communication, organization, critical thinking, problem solving, ability to be self-motivated, conflict resolution, dedication, and excellent attention to detail 

Career Path: community and semi-professional theatre, national tours, international tours

Lauren Crawford Reynolds

Lauren Crawford Reynolds

Graduating Year: 2015

Education: BFA in Theatre Performance – Dance Track

Career: Owner of Rapture Dance Company, dance teacher and choreographer

What they do: Currently running her dance company, teaching children to dance and participate in dance competition 

Necessary job skills: dance technique and training, entrepreneurial mindset, ability to mentor and communicate effectvely with a wide range of people from children to parents, organization, and problem-solving skills 

Career Path: competitive dancer and choreographer, studio owner and teacher