SAN FRANCISCO – Despite unusual circumstances without a commencement ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a total of 44 Urban Knights officially culminated their experience as student-athletes at Academy of Art University this past fall and spring. A diverse collection of talented individuals from 16 different fields of study composed the graduating class who joined the growing alumni contingent from the first art school in the NCAA.

Men's soccer led all sports with seven graduating student-athletes followed by six from women's soccer and five apiece from men's and women's track & field/cross country. Quartets came from women's tennis, men's basketball, and baseball while men's golf and volleyball each graduated trios. A pair of softball student-athletes finished their collegiate careers along with one from women's golf.

Four individuals who helped guide ART U women's tennis through its deepest postseason run in program history were among those finishing including Doubles All-Americans and 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year nominees Alma Thell-Lenntorp and Klara Thell-Lenntorp (Communications & Media Technologies), Singles All-American Monika Stanikova (Fashion Marketing), and Taisiia Andrieieva (Motion Pictures & Television). The quartet who combined for over 175 singles victories with Academy of Art led the way in the program's 2018 run to the NCAA Quarterfinals.

"I am very grateful for the opportunity I had at Academy of Art," said Stanikova. "Student-athlete life is not easy, but it is definitely worth it to experience the journey. I met a lot of great people at ART U who are friends for life. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we didn't have a chance to celebrate our graduation and my last semester at Academy of Art was very strange, but I am very happy I earned my degree from ART U and was part of some great results in the tennis program's history both individually and with my team. Go Knights!" 

The track & field/cross country graduating class featured numerous accomplished individuals with three-time All-American and two-time PacWest Triple Jump Champion Rian Young-Werner (Illustration), three-time D2ADA Academic Achievement Award winner Briaunna Caver (Writing for Film, Television, & Digital Media), five-time All-PacWest Team and her department's 2020 2-D Animation Layout Design honoree Giulia McIsaac, Distance Medley Relay All-American and four-time Academic All-PacWest honoree Ashley Brown (Fashion Design), and published fashion stylist Latavia Hawkins (Fashion Styling) all entering the professional ranks. Both Young-Werner and McIsaac had their work featured in the 2020 Spring Show.

On the men's track & field/cross country side, the quintet of Michane Ricketts (Animation & Visual Effects), Joshua Browne (Industrial Design), Grant Swinton (Communications & Media Technologies), Michael Houston (Acting), Christian Carter (Communications & Media Technologies) combined for seven All-American honors over the course of their careers. Ricketts, responsible for three of those selections and who still holds four program records, had his portfolio on display in the 2020 Spring Show along with Houston, winner of two NXT UP Fest "Best Actor" awards, while Carter and Swinton were both part of the indoor 4x400m relay team that currently ranks sixth in NCAA Division II history.

"My experience was cool and I learned a lot on my own," said Swinton. "I would say it was a useful character-building experience. Now being off to the real world, it was a good introduction to that."  

Brenden Otero and Anthony Silva (both Communications & Media Technologies) along with Victor Ruiz de Carranza (Communications & Media Technologies) and Cobe Williams (Music Production & Sound Design for Visual Media), both integral parts of the men's basketball program's two PacWest Conference Tournament appearances these past two years, were among the graduates. Ruiz de Carranza ended with the second-most career rebounds and sixth-most assists in program history while Williams wrapped up as the Urban Knights' career assist leader and one of three players to reach triple digits in 3-pointers made. Both also collaborated on a "Taylor Guitars" commercial that appeared in the 2020 Spring Show.

"I appreciate my teachers for doing their absolute best in making the last few months of school the best experience possible in unfortunate circumstances," said Williams. "I felt super fortunate to have the opportunity to pursue two of my passions in one of the greatest cities in the world. At Academy of Art, I was introduced to a world of opportunity I never knew existed."

Some of the top scorers in the recent history of the men's soccer program completed their respective collegiate runs including Isiah Quiros (Communications & Media Technologies), Jake Walter (Landscape Architecture), Dominic Payerchin (Graphic Design), Arnor Hafsteinsson (Motion Pictures & Television), Dylan Ingle (Architecture), and Zak Kiser (Music Production & Sound Design for Visual Media). Walter, Ingle, and Payerchin found themselves honored with their portfolios displayed in the 2020 Spring Show. Ranked second in career saves, Kevin Mendez (Advertising) joined his teammates as one of a select group of individuals who appear on all of the program's career goalkeeper statistical categories.

Representing the graduates from the women's soccer team were Dani Tellez (Interior Architecture & Design), Rocky Herrera (Communications & Media Technologies), Aliya Salas and Caitlin Jones (both Graphic Design), Chayney Mata (Acting) and the School of Fashion powerhouse tandem of Alice Michell (Fashion Design) and Makayla Godden (Textile Design). Michell and Godden both made appearances in the 2020 Spring Show after determinedly finishing their respective senior theses amid remote conditions due to the pandemic.

Three men's golfers and one from the women's side closed out their collegiate careers as Eamonn Coughlin (Advertising), Jose Lopez Butron (Advertising), and Oskar Frick (Architecture) graduated along with Maria Fernanda Traboulsi (Interior Architecture & Design). The four golfers combined for an impressive 16 academic awards in their careers while Frick, the first All-Region honoree in the history of the men's golf program, and Traboulsi, recipient of the 2018 and 2019 ARTYs for Highest Female Student-Athlete GPA, were both featured in the 2020 Spring Show.

"Graduating with a BFA from the School of Interior Architecture & Design at ART U and being a student-athlete at the same time was not just a goal completed," said Traboulsi. "It was a challenge that makes me look forward to my next goals, no matter what they are, with more confidence than ever. And if I have to look back, it's just to get in touch with good memories, experiences to learn from, and to be grateful."

Multiple program record-holders emerged from baseball's graduating class as Michael Maleski (Motion Pictures & Television) and Caden Spilsbury (Communications & Media Technologies) joined career saves leader Galen Manhard (Communications & Media Technologies) and career batting average leader Thomas Delgadillo (Communications & Media Technologies). Both Maleski and Spislbury had their projects featured in the 2020 Spring Show while Manhard and Delgadillo made the most of their lone full seasons with the team, breaking the single-season saves and batting average records in a 2019 campaign that saw Delgadillo named to three All-Region teams.

The softball tandem of Katie Tablada (Architecture) and Sarah Wapner (Fashion Styling) finished off their respective final collegiate years with resolute drive to produce final projects. Tablada's senior thesis work, "Reclaiming Maiden Lane" which all could see in the 2020 Spring Show, and Wapner's work on "Antidote," a piece that appeared in fashion industry leader "The Impression," were also both completed amid remote circumstances due to the pandemic.

Volleyball's graduates featured the multi-talented trio of Alana Lucas (Graphic Design) and Lyndsay Mlynar (Architecture) along with former NBC Sports Bay Area News Intern Talia Thompson (Communications & Media Technologies). Mlynar, who holds the honor of being one of just four Urban Knights to surpass 1,000 career digs, and Lucas, one of five ART U players to eclipse 1,000 career assists, ironically find themselves next to one another among the program's top six in career service aces. 

"The instructors and classmates I've had throughout my time at Academy of Art have been extremely supportive and encouraging, especially in the final semester when everything went online," said Lucas. "I feel so lucky to have studied Graphic Design in arguably the best design city in the world, play a sport I love, and meet some of the best people from all around the world. It was truly a life-changing experience and I will always cherish the years I spent as a student-athlete at ART U."

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.