Student Showcase

Gabriele, “Gigi” Ruggiero is earning a BFA degree in Digital Design and Media Arts with minors in Studio Art, English (with a creative writing slant), and Game and Emergent Technology. Throughout her time at Wilkes, she has been part of the design and leadership team in our campus' design club Studio 20 and now holds the position of president. She has contributed designs to multiple merch drops, created event posters and designs for multiple activities on campus, as well as taking on client-based work within the community. She has made Dean’s list all eight semesters. In 2025 she was the first student from Wilkes accepted into the student volunteer program at the international SIGGRAPH conference in Vancouver, assisting attendees and supporting behind the scenes activities. Gigi has worked ‘crew” for multiple talent interview video shoots for a series of Ruggiero-Steele documentaries. In addition, she was part of the student team that created a dynamic stop motion animation for the end credit sequence for the soon to be released documentary Muhammad Ali: In This Corner - Deer Lake. After graduation she is looking to pursue her creative passions in motion-based design, working heavily with video and bold designs that make a statement.

GIGI RUGGIERO'S Portfolio SHOWCASE (.pdf)

Alex Martin is a senior majoring in Digital Design & Media Arts earning a BA with a minor in Game and Emergent Technology. He is an Eagle Scout, eight time Dean’s List honoree, and presented research at the SITE Conferences in Orlando on “Mosaic: An Augmented Reality Application to Motivate University Students to Visit Galleries” and in Philadelphia on “Circuit Breaker: Neon Entanglement, Building Quantum Intuition Through Embodied Gameplay in Virtual Reality”. Along with graphic design and game design, Alex has a passion for 3D modeling and web design and immerses himself in those things as much as possible. After graduation, Alex plans to pursue a career in 3D modeling within the video game and film industries.

Alex Martin's Portfolio Showcase (.pdf)

Lara Mullen is a BFA student in the Integrative Media and Design program, where she has worked as a tutor, teaching assistant, and studio assistant. During her time at Wilkes, she completed a design fellowship with the Sordoni Art Gallery, where she developed an interest in how design shapes the way people engage with history. She also served as the lead graphics designer for The Beacon, student newspaper and member of Studio 20. Her independent study, Visualizing Appalachia: Power, Propaganda, and the Ethics of Design, explored how visual communication shapes regional identity and labor activism, with a focus on ethical representation in contemporary design practice. After graduation, Lara will spend a year continuing her work in exhibition and communication design with Historic Bethlehem Museums and Sites before pursuing a Master’s degree in History of Design and Material Culture at the University of Brighton.

Lara Mullen's Portfolio Showcase (.pdf)

Grace Carrick graduated in the winter of 2025 with a BFA in Digital Design & Media Arts and a Minor in English. At Wilkes, she has gained valuable experience as a designer at the Sordoni Art Gallery, creating promotional materials for exhibitions, and as a leader in the Studio 20 design club. In addition to her university work, Grace has completed several freelance projects, designing brand identities and logos for clients. Passionate about book design, she aspires to work as an in-house designer for a publisher, specializing in designing book covers and contributing to creative publishing teams.

Grace Carrick's Showcase (.pdf)

Emily is earning a BA degree in Digital Design and Media Arts with a minor in Studio Arts. She is a member of the student design team at the Sordoni Art Gallery, where she also served as student curator and research assistant for her internship. During this internship, she researched artist Helen Zughaib and her Migrations Series to lead the branding for the exhibition Migrations which was on display at the gallery from October 2025 through February 2026. In addition to designing the catalog for the exhibition, she contributed an essay, “Visual Narratives of Migration: A Comparative Study of Helen Zughaib and Jacob Lawrence”. The catalog won several awards at the American Advertising Federation (of NEPA) Awards including the Student Gold Award, Student Judge’s Choice Award, and Student People's Choice Award. Along with this, she also won an honorable mention for a separate project. Emily is also a member of Studio 20, contributing to their merch sales with Wilkes-inspired designs. After graduation, Emily plans to gain work experience in design and hopes to eventually get a master’s degree with aspirations to work in a professional design setting at a museu

Emily Romanoskey's Showcase (.pdf)