Their Stories. Their Experiences.

Brenda Vega Mora

I value the support from Bass faculty and their openness to helping me develop my ideas into fully realized works of art.

The spaces at the Bass School are designed to support diverse artistic practices, offering computer labs and other areas that encourage experimentation.

Visual and Performing Arts | PhD’23 | Hometown: Ecuador | Dream job: Practicing Artist and Professor

Expressive

Chloe Serimontrikul

Aside from being the most accessible animation program to me as a Texan, I chose the Bass School because of the wide range of subjects within animation that students are given the opportunity to try out or focus on.

The Experimenta.l. studio has taken me leagues beyond where I started as an artist. It’s perfect for fostering creativity.

The people you find here are so awesome – so make friends, talk to your professors, go to club meetings, and just go all out while you’re here. There is so much to explore!

Animation and Games | BA’26 | Hometown: Houston, TX | Dream job: Stop Motion Studio Puppet Maker and/or Animator

Kristen Duong

The Bass School’s emphasis on blending creative practice with technological innovation aligns perfectly with my goal to create meaningful work that resonates within communities.

Through access to cutting-edge facilities, collaborative projects, and guidance from mentors who are leaders in their fields, I am gaining the skills and insights I need to foster a career that not only develops my creative abilities but also enables me to have a positive impact on society.

The program’s focus on creative practice within a technological framework equips you to navigate and shape the future of art in meaningful ways.

Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication: Creative Practice | MFA’27 | Hometown: Vietnam | Dream job: Art Director

Connected

Kristina Vazquez

The thing I value most about this program is the connections I made! The nature of Bass means it’s great for meeting people who are going to be doing all sorts of different things in the future, which can help you later.

For animation students, I think the focus on experimental animation is something you can’t really get at any other college in the state and it can really give you new opportunities you might wouldn’t get anywhere else!

I think the Bass space that has helped me progress the most is the open lab on the second floor. I think the ability to work collaboratively is really important for creatives and the open lab fosters that.

Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication | BA’26 | Hometown: Missouri City, TX | Dream job: Communications Specialist

Mozhdeh Khamsehnezhad

The Bass School was one of the few schools in the U.S. that offered an MFA in Animation when I decided to continue my higher education in Animation. The program stood out since its courses were practical, which was really important to me.

Communication and support are the most valuable things that I have found in this program. As an international student, I could say communication in another language might seem intimidating. However, everyone is so open and friendly, and I feel confident discussing various topics with the faculty since they always pay attention and try to help.

I have always loved storytelling through my art. Creating and developing characters and scenes that are distinctive and tell their own stories make me happy. That is why I hope to become an animation director and share the joy that I find in creating with the children who will watch my work.

Animation | MFA’25 | Hometown: Tehran, Iran | Dream job: Visual Developer

Curious

Olivia Speicher

I chose the Bass School because I wanted to make a career out of doing things I truly enjoyed — I wanted to learn how to create the content I liked to consume. I thought the Bass school would have the classes, professors, and overall opportunities I needed to make that happen.

By far the most valuable thing about the program is the versatility. There are many schools out there that will force you to walk a very narrow path toward graduation that does not include many important aspects of working in the entertainment industry. It is easy to talk about art (at least for me), and much harder to actually create it. There are a lot of institutions that will have you go through this very archaic process of talking and talking and talking about art and what it means, rather than teaching you the actual technical and design knowledge you need to have to make these things. The Bass School offers those courses, and your professors expect deliverables.

My absolute dream job would be to work as a show runner for an original screenplay I have written. I would love to create something that the world will see — I think the people who create media these days have such a massive amount of power. I want to influence, change minds, provoke emotion.

The spaces at the Bass School that have helped me progress the most are the common areas of the building where people can gather to get work done. I have a super hard time getting work done at home — so having all the options to create and be productive with my fellow students in the silent social contract of “we are all here because we have deadlines” has been very nice.

Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication: Emerging Media Arts Major, Creative Writing Minor | BA’25 | Hometown: Plano, TX | Dream job: Show Runner

Winston Huo

The availability of resources to help support my academics and nurture my interests.

The experienced faculty and the labs that are available to support my studies.

Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication | BA’24 | Hometown: Singapore | Dream job: Studio Engineer

Imaginative

Hadi Asgharpour

This is a very good interdisciplinary program for everybody. We have sound labs, we have 3D studios, we have LabSynthE – so students can share their thoughts, their ideas, their skills. I thought I could learn a lot in this environment, and I did.

Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication: Creative Practice | MFA’25 | Hometown: Guilan, Iran | Dream job: Professor

This is Bass.

Bass School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology