SAN FRANCISCO – After many competed for the final time with Academy of Art University this past spring, a total of 20 Urban Knights officially culminated their experience as ART U student-athletes earlier this month. Though no commencement ceremony was held due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this collection of talented individuals from eight different fields of study composed the graduating class who join the growing alumni contingent from the first art school in the NCAA.

Representing a men's golf team that accomplished two of its best seasons to date most recently, the School of Communications & Media Technologies duo of Zhane Chan and Gabriel De Leon Manotoc were among the contributing members. Chan's debut 2019-20 campaign saw him earn a host of academic honors including Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar along with De Leon Manotoc who, in addition to being ranked inside the program's top three in several categories, culminated his five seasons as a member of the Urban Knights' 2021 Pacific West Conference Championship team.

From ART U women's golf, Elan Hawkins emerged as a graduate from the School of Industrial Design, one of the toughest majors at Academy of Art. One of the top students in her department and selected as its representative and host for the television series "California By Design," Hawkins closed out a memorable career with a total of 10 top 10 finishes, three All-PacWest Team honors, three Academic All-PacWest awards, and two Pacific West Conference All-Tournament Team selections all in addition to helping the Urban Knights capture their first PacWest Championship in 2019 (to read more about her collegiate career, click here). 

"To graduate during a pandemic has been quite surreal," Hawkins said. "The last class you'll ever take is there right before you know it and ends quickly, with a simple click to leave the Zoom call. I have enjoyed all my years as an Academy of Art student-athlete and I hope to continue this journey with the same notion. I encourage anyone to follow what they want to do, no matter what the masses say. Believe it or not, if you have a dream, it may take quite a bit of hard work, but it is very possible to achieve."

In the first of her three years with the program, women's track & field and School of Communications & Media Technologies graduate Camille Jouanno achieved the dream of many student-athletes: to become a national champion. Jouanno started a career that featured multiple All-American and All-Region honors as well as several academic awards by garnering the national title in the indoor triple jump in 2019.

On the soccer pitch, products from three different ART U schools were on display as the men's team featured Kris Jensson (Web Design & New Media) and Jaret Gil (Game Development) while Lara Pflicke (Acting) finished her career with the women's squad. Jensson, a multi-time Spring Show honoree and his department's 2021 Best In Show honoree, went out among the program's top three in every goalkeeper stat category. A workhorse in the Knights' midfield, Gil competed in more matches over the past four years than any other Urban Knight on the current roster. Concluding her career by being featured in both the 2021 Spring Show and in NXTUP Fest 2021, Pflicke finished with the best career save percentage and goals against average in program history.

Both Academy of Art basketball teams contributed to the Class of 2021 as Shyla Miller, a two-time Academic All-PacWest honoree from the School of Communications & Media Technologies, from the women's side joined four members of the men's squad who made the program's second straight PacWest Tournament appearance in 2020. Nemanja Kovacevic represented the School of Web Design & New Media while the trio of Dante Williams, Josh Hill, and Stefan Milivojevic earned their degrees from the School of Communications & Media Technologies. All competing in the Knights' shortened 2020-21 season, Williams spearheaded a noted shift in the program's success across the last five seasons, Hill finished with the second-most career rebounds in ART U history over just 43 games, and Milivojevic became the first student-athlete in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points in addition to leading in nearly every other scoring category.

"I thank ART U for helping me make unforgettable friendships, memories, and many life lessons," Milivojevic said. "I challenged and shaped my character during my journey and that is something priceless. I would also like to thank God, my family, and my friends who helped me succeed in my basketball and academic career."

Proving to be the strongest academic student-athlete on the men's side in 2019, School of Communications & Media Technologies and cross country and track & field's Nicolas Boffman earned the Highest Individual GPA at the 2020 ARTYs and finished his career above a 3.50 with three Academic All-PacWest honors to his name.

Also an Academic All-PacWest recipient in her career, Kristina Gross from the School of Fashion and women's tennis wrapped up her time at Academy of Art in style by having her "Perfektion" collection, a series of gowns influenced by the Austrian-Hungarian princess Sissi, featured in Spring Show.

Softball had a pair of graduates in the School of Visual Development's Austyn Matlick and the School of Motion Pictures & Television's Hannah Rose Balke. Both members of the historic 2018 team that went to the postseason and achieved the most wins in program history, Matlick and Balke each devoted four plus years to Academy of Art. Matlick earned Academic All-PacWest honors in her final year with the Urban Knights and had her work appear in the 2021 Spring Show while Balke concluded her five-year collegiate softball career among the top 10 in every ART U pitching category, leading all who came before her with 45 wins (to read more about Matlick and Balke's careers, click here).

A quartet from the School of Communications & Media Technologies, closed out their respective collegiate careers while contributing to baseball's first postseason appearance and a PacWest Northern California Pod Championship this past spring. Austin LaBarber, Fabian Barcena, Noah Daubin, and Jacob Hord represented a versatile collection of talents, each having pitched in 2021 while also combining to make over 160 starts around the diamond during their careers.

"Graduating was an awesome feeling," LaBarber said. "One of the biggest takeaways from my journey through college has to be the great camaraderie within our team. Baseball and school were a fun time, but the best time of college was doing it with my teammates."

This graduating class enters their respective industries with sophisticated portfolios as the Academy of Art University Athletics Department continues to celebrate its student-athletes' academic successes along with their athletic accomplishments.