Carson Center Announces 40 New Entrants for Its 2024 Emerging Media Arts Cohort.

New Cohort of 40 Students Chosen for Carson Center’s Emerging Media Arts Program

University of Nebraska Lincoln is thrilled to announce its newest cohort, which comprises 40 students, 20 first-year and 20 transfer students studying at the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts which is a part of the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film within the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. Centre witnessed its first cohort in 2019 and now this fall it will mark the sixth cohort with 146 students majoring in emerging media arts. Out of these 146 students, 31 are from Nebraska while the 2024 session includes students from Alabama, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, South Dakota, and even India.

Megan Elliott, the Johnny Carson Endowed Director in Emerging Media Arts, expressed her admiration as the students continuously applied to the program and enthusiastically waited to see how this new group would excel in their academics. 
The curriculum of the program is specifically designed to help students navigate the transformative effects of artificial intelligence and virtual production, which have changed the face of several industries, including film. Applications for the fall 2025 cohort will open soon. For more details, students can visit https://go.unl.edu/emaapplication.

The 2024-25 emerging media arts cohort from Nebraska includes students from various towns.

From Alliance, Mason Trumble is selected. Bellevue’s Dolan States is a transfer student, as are Kylen Borders from Broken Bow and multiple students from Lincoln, including Joseph Fick, Felicity Jacobsen, Marsy Jimenez-Statler, Jude Kroeze, Asher Lahm, Emiliano Munoz-Contreras, Natalie Schmersal, Riley Anne Schreiner, Ian Tuck, and Nicholas Vanek. Lincoln Southwest is represented by Mirabella Kundhi and Emiliano Munoz-Contreras, while Lincoln High is represented by Eli Larson and Nicholas Vanek. From Milford, Blaze Shepard joins as a transfer student. Omaha students include Peter Jensen from Omaha Central, Ella Konwinski from Millard West, Benjamin Logsdon from home school, Dallas Luckenbill from Millard North, and transfers Kaden McCandless, John Trenolone, Hannah Wiesenfeld, and Jude Winslow. Papillion’s Caroline Caskey and Scottsbluff’s Diego Larsen and Benjamin Vidlak, both transfers, complete the list.

The 2024-25 emerging media arts cohort includes students from several states and countries. From Auburn, Alabama, Dracen Pedersen joins, while Selah Young from Castle Rock, Colorado, represents Ascent Classical Academy. Naperville, Illinois, is represented by transfer student Raffi Viton. Henry Monahan from Overland Park, Kansas, is selected from Blue Valley. Marisa is from Worthington, Minnesota, and comes from Worthington Senior. South Dakota’s Fort Pierre has Grace Soma as a transfer student, and Sioux Falls contributes Naomi Rock from Washington. Lastly, Nyssa Fernandez from Mumbai, India, joins the cohort from Universal.

Editor’s Note: 

The selection of 40 students for the new cohort at the Carson Center is significantly important for the program as the diverse group of students, representing various states across the U.S. and even India, brings together a pool of talented and potential students in the emerging media arts field. This program is aimed to focus on navigating the impacts of artificial intelligence and virtual production, which will produce talent in the field of media and technology. 

Skoobuzz congratulates all the selected students and encourages others to apply for the cohort 2025.