From left: Leon Cruz, Ethan Kim and Carter Smallcanyon

Join us in welcoming our three 2021 summer interns! Ethan Kim and Carter Smallcanyon are two high school students who will bring their own skills and unique perspective to the creation of animation-based graphic pages based on themes and prompts originating in our historic content and the many stories related to the people and landscape of the desert Southwest. Leon Cruz is our Masters intern from USC who works in animation and many other digital storytelling mediums. He brings his expertise and his own relationship to the Southwest to guide Ethan and Carter over the next 8 weeks. We are looking forward to showing you the outcome of our collaboration at the end of August. Keep scrolling to learn more about each of our interns…

Hi, I’m Carter Smallcanyon and I am a Navajo Indian. I am a result oriented person, and enjoy working on projects that I can see a result in. I also enjoy sharing experiences and stories, which is why I enjoy making art in various different forms. Essentially I really enjoy being able to share things with people, whether it be an experience like VR, a culture with my friends, or sharing something like a beaded bracelet that I made. I can’t wait to make something great with the Onward Project. 
———–
Hi, I am Ethan Kim and I’m a second generation Korean American who currently resides in Palo Alto (California) and am a rising junior at Henry M. Gunn High, but will be attending Foothill Middle College for my last two years. Starting at a very young age, I’ve always appreciated and loved art and learning about different cultures and their unique stories, so I hope to major in Art History, Art, or Anthropology when I attend college. During my free time, I enjoy rowing competitively at NorCal Crew, serving as an Eagle Scout at Scouts BSA and growing bonsai trees.
———–
My name is Leon Cruz, a recent graduate from the University of Southern California’s Digital Arts and Animation Program. I specialize in 3D animation, motion capture and also have a fine arts background in painting, drawing and sculpting. I really like helping, being technical plus creative, especially while trying to tell a story dynamically with moving images, characters and of course animation.
———–