MSDA Alumni

Q: What were you doing before joining the MSDA program?

I was an undergraduate student at Wheaton College, double majoring in Physics and Computer Science. I've always had an inkling of wanting to explore digital arts, but there were no opportunities of that kind at my undergraduate school. It was the combination of physics, computer science and 3D printing that I really wanted to pursue, but I felt like I lacked the knowledge and setting to effectively put those together. Going into my senior year at Wheaton College, I had applied for the MSDA program and found my chance to combine my interests and apply it towards a thesis project.

Q: What have you been up to since graduating the program? Where are you now?

Throughout my time as an MSDA student, I was an intern at the company, QUEL Imaging, and I began full time a couple months before graduating. We were a small company of three and now grew to eight a couple of years later. I'm still local, teaching Digital Fabrication and Rapid Prototyping for the second time this summer.

Q: How did the MSDA program impact your life and career?

It brought me to the upper valley which I now call home. The environment here is why I stay, but the MSDA program is what gave me that opportunity. The MSDA program gave me more insight into the world of research. It was my first true introduction, since my undergraduate college lacked that exposure. I was able to freely explore my own curiosities and combine my existing passions with a concerted research effort, culminating in my thesis. The classes I took exposed me to various niches in computer science I was not privy to in the past. Those served as great inspiration for the work I do now and the fun I have coding outside of work. It felt strange to see how much of an overlap the field of biotech has with what I learned from the MSDA program. I'm happy to say the classes I took have directly informed the decisions we make at QUEL. Overall, the MSDA program has impacted my life and career for the better.

Q: What were you doing before joining the MSDA program?

I was an undergrad student at Dartmouth. I studied Psychology and Digital Arts.

Q: What have you been up to since graduating the program? Where are you now?

I’m a product designer. I currently work at a startup called Campfire, where I design a multi-platform enterprise software for collaborating on 3D data. I presented my MSDA thesis on social interaction in VR at the 2024 Computing Conference, and the paper was published in the Springer series "Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems". I currently live in NYC.

Q: How did the MSDA program impact your life and career?

My current company hired me in part because of my thesis research. Additionally, the skills I learned through my coursework in the MSDA, my Digital Arts minor courses, and my hands-on experience at DALI have been invaluable in both my current position and other projects I’ve pursued. My MSDA professors (Lorie Loeb, James Mahoney, and Michael Cohen) have also been incredibly supportive and helpful throughout the process of publishing my thesis paper. I also made a lot of good friends in the program!

Q: What were you doing before joining the MSDA program?

I was an undergrad at Dartmouth studying Film & Media Studies modified with Digital Arts, and a minor in Computer Science.

Q: What have you been up to since graduating the program? Where are you now?

I started a job as a render wrangler at Ingenuity Studios (VFX) and am working towards a Pipeline Technical Director role.

Q: How did the MSDA program impact your life and career?

The MSDA program equipped me with more robust programming experience, problem-solving and research skills, and familiarity with concepts in digital arts. It also gave me time to think about my future goals and position myself for opportunities that interested me.

Q: What were you doing before joining the MSDA program?

Dartmouth undergraduate studying Government, Human-Centered Design, and Digital Arts

Q: What have you been up to since graduating the program? Where are you now?

UI/UX and Product Design. Currently at a startup in New York City

Q: How did the MSDA program impact your life and career?

Shifting from humanities to technology and design was a huge step for me, and the MSDA program was pivotal in pushing my understanding of human-computer interaction & bringing me up to step with peers who have been studying in the field for years.

Q: What were you doing before joining the MSDA program?

I was a college student majoring digital media technology.

Q: What have you been up to since graduating the program? Where are you now?

I'm working as a software developer at Amazon. I live in Boston area now.

Q: How did the MSDA program impact your life and career?

I have always been interested in digital arts, and had some experience in both 3D art creation and programming. The MSDA program provides great opportunities to horn my skills to a new level, and to explore the possibility of combining them together in various projects.

I’m currently working as a software developer on digital twin simulation, which is a popular topic recent days and requires solid understanding of both 3D art and computer science, which wouldn’t be possible without my experience at MSDA.

Besides career, I am really appreciated for the inclusive and supportive environment in MSDA, or Dartmouth in general, as well as all the help from the faculty, staff and fellow students. As an international student, I gained a lot of cultural experience and my mindset got expanded, which has a huge impact on my personal growth.

Q: What were you doing before joining the MSDA program?

I graduated from RPI with a BS before joining MSDA in 2020. I had a dual major in Computer Science and Electronic Arts.

Q: What have you been up to since graduating the program? Where are you now?

After graduating from the program, I had a Technical Artist internship at Epic Games. Now I’m converted to FTE and still working within the same team.

Q: How did the MSDA program impact your life and career?

The courses I took under the MSDA curriculum gave me a great opportunity to further explore the interaction of digital art and CS and learn more in-depth topics in computer graphics and digital arts. The various projects gave me a chance to showcase my work as well.

Q: What were you doing before joining the MSDA program?

Double major engineering + studio art.

Q: What have you been up to since graduating the program? Where are you now?

Founded a creative software agency in Zürich.

Q: How did the MSDA program impact your life and career?

Positive. exposed me to new tech and ideas.

Q: What were you doing before joining the MSDA program?

I was a student majoring in digital media technology.

Q: What have you been up to since graduating the program? Where are you now?

I am a software engineer at Meta.

Q: How did the MSDA program impact your life and career?

It helped a lot for my career and I also tried many new things in the program. (For the next question, I haven't made a profile image yet, but here is my personal page, y-sq.github.io, and I'll update you with my image once I have that. Thank you!).