2021 GRADUATE STUDENT FELLOWS
Andrea Alfaro
I was born and raised in San Salvador, El Salvador. I graduated with an Associate’s degree from Florida Keys Community College in April 2010, a Bachelor’s degree in Communications with an emphasis in Video Production/Journalism on December 2013 from Brigham Young University, Idaho, and recently completed an MFA in Digital Media at Sam Houston State University.
During my time at BYU-Idaho, I had the chance to learn about production, film, video editing and camera operating. As a requirement for graduation, I had the opportunity to intern for Telemundo-Utah and report news for their daily newscast. I had the honor to teach for the last 4 years at Sam Houston State University at the Mass Communications department and currently I work as a freelancer.
Janeen Fagbemi
Hello, I’m Janeen Fagbemi! I work as a videographer for the Organizational Development Department at Lone Star College. I love to share people’s stories to foster connection and empathy. I work on graphic and web design, take and edit photos, and of course produce video and audio content. I am currently attending Sam Houston State University and pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Digital Media production. I love to learn and am passionate about storytelling through film, tv, and music.
Kai McNeil
(Also known as Kai Mac) is an Emerging Filmmaker and visual artist, based out of North Carolina. He graduated from North Carolina State University with a degree in Communication Media and is currently pursuing his MFA in Documentary Film at Wake Forest University. Kai is currently working on his thesis, “Smile: The story of Josh Level and the Classic,” which examines the North Carolina tight-knit basketball community while playing on the themes of life and legacy. Kai also has a passion for teaching and strives to be a professor of practice that focuses on creating a classroom that facilitates inclusion, allowing students from all backgrounds to tell their stories.
Lauren Ruhnke
Lauren is a queer feminist scholar and PhD student in the Department of Anthropology at Temple University, pursuing a graduate certificate in Gender, Sexuality, and Women Studies. Lauren is interested in using decolonial queer/feminist theory and multimodal research methods to study social movement building and queer community networks in Mumbai, working with advocacy groups centering digital and cinematic forums. Her dissertation research explores the identity work that happens as activists, institutions, and queer persons engage with digital media technologies and their communities.
Twitter: @lornruhnke