SAN FRANCISCO – This past month of May, the 2023 installment of Commencement at Academy of Art University saw a total of 43 Urban Knights officially culminate their experience as ART U student-athletes. Talented individuals from 17 different fields of study signed off on their final semesters as either undergraduate or graduate students to expand the growing alumni contingent from the first and only art school in NCAA Division II.

A busy day at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium began with graduates from five majors and six different sport programs receiving their master's degrees. Two men's track & field student-athletes, Mathieu Tshani from the School of Landscape Architecture and Duncan Agyemang from the School of Communications & Media Technologies, were not in attendance as they were competing at Outdoor Nationals in Colorado where they would finish their careers as three and seven-time All-Americans respectively, program record holders in the outdoor triple jump and outdoor 400m respectively, and Tshani as the 2022 Outdoor Triple Jump National Champion while Agyemang was runner-up to the top 400m finisher that same year.

Master's degrees were also conferred to the School of Advertising trio of baseball's Travis Turney, Joy Krupa of women's basketball, and Adrian Byrd-Jelinek of men's basketball. Turney led the team in doubles, walks, and stolen bases in 2023 while Krupa contributed to a 2021-22 ART U squad that reached the NCAA postseason for the first time since 2016 and Byrd-Jellinek was part of the Urban Knights' 2022 Pacific West Conference Tournament Championship team that competed in the NCAA postseason for the first time. Owen Day from the School of Animation & Visual Effects and men's cross country/track & field plus softball's Chelsea Sligh from the School of Industrial Design made it seven total Academy of Art student-athletes completing their graduate programs this year.

In action at Outdoor Nationals along with Tshani and Agyemang during the commencement ceremonies were undergraduates Darria Matthias (Fashion Styling), Shareez Hamm (Photography), and Makarios Page (Music Production & Sound Design for Visual Media). Each added at least one All-American honor to their resume in 2023 with Matthias ending as an eight-time All-American (nine times appearing on the ART U all-time top five), Hamm closing as a five-time All-American (appearing on the program's top five 11 times), and Page finishing with three All-American selections (making eight appearances on Academy of Art's top five including a spot on the top indoor and outdoor 4x400m relay alongside Hamm).

Teammates to that trio, Daquan Berry (Communications & Media Technologies) from men's track & field as well as Markus Anderson Deakin (Motion Pictures & Television), Hudson Lockette (Illustration), and Audrey Rosencrans (Textile Design) from cross country and track & field reached the respective ends of their illustrious collegiate careers as well. The veteran quartet collectively logged 21 years for Academy of Art, combining for 19 regional awards and 21 All-PacWest Team selections during their time.

Representing softball, a trio of five-year contributors found themselves walking across the commencement stage less than one month after playing their final collegiate games on the field. The School of Graphic Design's Bethany Mitchell, the School of Interior Architecture & Design's Haley Arnold-Jolley, and the School of Interaction & UI/UX Design's Cassandra Mittman, who celebrated their Senior Day in late April, had become three of the names and faces synonymous with ART U Softball as Mitchell and Mittman both appeared in 50 or more games each of the past two seasons, each achieving more than 100 hits in their respective careers while Arnold-Jolley pitched in 40 or more over the course of 2022-23 and finished with 349.0 innings pitched.

Four other members of the 2023 baseball squad joined Turney as Cannon Secrist, Hayato Niki, Patrick Morgan, and Dallen Turner all graduated from the School of Communications & Media Technologies. Secrist broke on the ART U scene as the team's Most Valuable Player in the 2020 season and would go on to finish as the Urban Knights' career strikeouts record holder (202), breaking a previous mark set in 2015. After leading the starting rotation in earned run average, he would earn a place on the 2023 All-PacWest Third Team along with Niki who led the team in batting average and closed his career with the third-highest career batting average in program history (.316). The two also shared a special moment standing side-by-side with Turney on Senior Day.

The Academy of Art men's and women's soccer programs shared quite a bit of history across their respective seven-person graduating classes. On the men's side, five different majors were covered as Gilli Kristjansson and Logi Saemundsson emerged from the School of Interaction & UI/UX Design, both Davis King and Mykal Mason finished in the School of Photography, Fannar Omarsson completed his time in the School of Industrial Design, Christian Schaffner ended in the School of Communications & Media Technologies, and Gilly Miller wrapped up his undergraduate career in the School of Music Production & Sound Design for Visual Media. Among their highlights, many of which were celebrated on Senior Day, were a combined 15 Academic All-PacWest Team honors, five finishing in the top 10 for minutes played in 2023, King being found in five of the program's career top 10 statistical categories including wins and shutouts, and Kristjansson achieving the new ART U record for career minutes played with more than 6,500 across his five seasons. Coming off a season where he made the 2022 D2CCA All-West Region Second Team, Miller set new program single-season records with 26 points and 10 goals scored.

"It means the world to graduate as a student-athlete," King said. "Looking back on my time at Academy of Art, I've realized what it takes to be successful in many different ways. It takes commitment and discipline to be a student-athlete. Academy of Art is a great way to learn about the real working world in your major at the same time as being an athlete." 

All seven graduates from Academy of Art women's soccer were teammates for at least three seasons with six competing for the Urban Knights for five years apiece (five of whom were celebrated on Senior Day). Combining for 26 Academic All-PacWest Team selections were Nicole Peoples (Visual Development), Avica Robings (Art Education), Reyna Valencia (Interior Architecture & Design), Britney Flint (Graphic Design), Sydney Cooke (Architecture), Baylie Christensen (Photography), and Brooklyn Morera (Communications & Media Technologies). Outside of Peoples' 1,190 minutes played in goal, the six other Knights each spent more than 4,000 minutes on the pitch while adding their names throughout the program's record book. Morera became one of just five ART U competitors to record more than 10 goals and 20 points in her career, Christensen could be found on six Academy of Art career top 10 stat categories (including goals, assists, and matches started), Flint ended as the second Knight to eclipse 6,000 minutes played in her career plus one of three student-athletes to start every match she played in to join Cooke (ART U's career assist leader), and Robings finished 2023 as the team MVP.

"I absolutely adored my time at Academy of Art University," Robings said. "Going to an art school is no joke. It's a lot of time, effort, practice, and repetition. But being a student-athlete at an art school taught me responsibilities, skills, and management techniques I never knew I was capable of. I am so grateful for my time in San Francisco, especially at Academy of Art. The friendships, memories, and experiences made here will be something I will cherish and keep forever!"

Three Urban Knights from ART U women's tennis donned their caps and gowns as graduates, joining together as they have for Senior Day and throughout the last three seasons. The School of Interaction & UI/UX Design's Aitana Comas Adam as well as the School of Communications & Media Technologies' Julia Ortega and Yun "Nicole" Shiau signed off on careers highlighted by success both on and off the court. All with double-digit singles wins in their respective stints as Knights, each member of the trio was at least two-time Academic All-PacWest Team honorees and ITA Scholar-Athletes while Shiau followed her 2022 Richard & Clara Gil Stephens Urban Knight of the Year award with the Best Female Student-Athlete GPA and Ortega earned the team's most recent MVP selection.
 
"Graduating from Academy of Art being a student-athlete was very satisfying and exciting," Ortega said. "It has been a chapter of four intense and tough years, where I had to work very hard every day to keep myself in the best condition for both my studies and tennis competition. When you see that you finally achieve your goal after all the effort and dedication you put into it, that is the most rewarding aspect of it and what motivates me to keep moving forward. Being at Academy of Art has given me the opportunity to meet people from different countries around the world who have different cultures and different perspectives and that, in my opinion, is very enriching. Besides, I have been very lucky to have such extraordinary professors who, during these years, have encouraged and motivated me to keep growing as a person and developing my skills as a storyteller in media. I can say with no doubt that this has been and will be one of the most important and significant chapters of my life."

Both members of the aforementioned 2021-22 Academy of Art women's basketball team that reached the NCAA postseason for the first time in six seasons with Krupa, the duo of Lauryn Manns (School of Communications & Media Technologies) and Hailey McCoy (Advertising) wrapped up their respective collegiate careers also combining for four Academic All-PacWest Team honors. Manns, who received All-PacWest Team honors in her first two years competing for ART U, ended with a scoring average in double figures in her 51 career starts.

From men's basketball, two Urban Knights who helped the program reach new heights walked the stage in Klay Brown and Mike Asante both from the School of Communications & Media Technologies. Each 2022 PacWest All-Tournament Team selections (Asante was also Tourney MVP) for Academy of Art's PacWest Tournament Championship squad with Byrd-Jellinek that year, Brown and Asante returned this past campaign to help ART U go deeper into the NCAA postseason with Brown nearly achieving the program's first triple-double en route to an overtime victory in the first round of the NCAA West Regional. Part of the first two 20-win seasons for Academy of Art to date, the tandem added a pair of All-PacWest Second Team honors in 2023 and both finished among the Urban Knights' top 10 career scorers with Brown breaking single-season blocks and career steals program records as well.

A two-time All-PacWest Team member and four-time Academic All-PacWest honoree in her career, volleyball's Jillian Wheaton closed the book on her five years in the School of Animation & Visual Effects as both an academic standout and one of the most efficient hitters in program history. Finishing with the highest career attack percentage to date by an Urban Knight (.325) and among the ART U leaders in career blocks and kills, Wheaton added the recent honor of Best Female Student-Athlete GPA and a second appearance at Spring Show to her glowing resume.

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.