SCAD Brings Alumni Voices to TV Fest
Written by Logan Kilde. Photo courtesy of SCAD TV Fest.
Students and fans filled SCADshow Stage 2, a stuffy black box theater on SCAD Atlanta’s campus, for the most recent occurrence of the “SCAD Alumni Voices” panel. The panel occurs with different alumni doing new and successful things in the worlds of Film and Television at their respective SCAD Festivals. Professor Michael Chaney moderated this year’s TV Fest panel, asking questions to the five selected alumni about their journey after SCAD into the industry.
Jacob Hair (B.F.A. Sequential Art 2001) relied heavily on his SCAD network to get his first jobs in animation. From crashing on a friend’s couch when he first moved to Los Angeles, to hearing about the opportunity to test for “King of the Hill,” the people he met at SCAD were necessary resources for his career to take off.
Mahalia Latortue-Pridgett (M.F.A., film and television, 2020) seconded Hair’s enthusiasm for relying on friends. “You can network upwards, but also laterally,” she said. “The people in your class are going to move up with you, so it’s really important.”
Latortue-Pridgett has a special connection with TV Fest. Her first time attending the festival opened an opportunity for her to intern with JuVee Productions, Viola Davis’ production company. Through her network established in that job, she was able to continue making her way up in the industry in Los Angeles. Now, she works as a development coordinator on “Abbott Elementary.”
Jocelyn Shelfo (B.F.A., performing arts, 2025) was the most recent graduate honored at the panel. Very soon after her graduation from SCAD, she flew to South Korea to film season 3 of “XO, Kitty” where she played Madison Miller. Shelfo still works closely with her friends from SCAD, even recently returning to Savannah to be a part of a senior thesis film project. She values the people who taught her professional practices while allowing her to learn and make mistakes. “SCAD operates at an excellent and professional level,” she said. “I like to get my reps in and have this place to try and fail with safe people, it’s invaluable.”
Cynthia Adarkwa (B.F.A., dramatic writing, 2017) left SCAD carrying confidence. “In this career, there is a whole lot of rejection, more than you can imagine,” she says. “I’m grateful for the writing classes I took here because my professors told me, ‘There’s something here, keep going,’ and that gave me confidence.” She felt prepared to take on the industry because of the amount of material she had in her portfolio. Learning to revise scripts with Professor Auer allowed her to continue developing her work postgrad, and she continued writing spec scripts and sending them out, seeing if anything landed. Her determination and continued faith in herself have guided her through the industry to her current role as a writer on “The Pitt.”
Maansi Sunkara (B.F.A., visual effects, 2021) hopped around from production companies, doing projects with DreamWorks, Lucasfilm, and Nickelodeon before landing her current role at Warner Bros. While she puts in great work as a senior production manager, she emphasized to students the importance of having a life outside of their work. “Work is not consistent. Things can happen,” she said. “Don’t let your worth be tied to your job.”
Packed into the audience, students responded positively to the anecdotes and advice being shared by alumni. Crowd reactions were frequent, and hands were raised consistently throughout the small group when Professor Chaney opened the floor for questions. The conversation left a palpable impact on the group who filed out of the space filled with hope and creative excitement.
