B.A. in Cinema and Music Composition
Pickerington, Ohio

Presentation Remarks:

Bryan, it is clear from the rich mosaic of your engagements at Denison that you could give the rest of us a tutorial on the meaning of a liberal arts education. If the purpose of such an education is that we learn not just how to think, but how to be, then you are the perfect model in your ability to connect the life of the intellect and the life of the arts on our campus. In your four years here you have built sturdy bridges across disciplines and among varying perspectives in a creative blend of the scholarly and the aesthetic. As a Phi Beta Kappa double major in music and cinema, departmental fellow and tutor, and Summer Scholar, you have immersed yourself in music composition, piano performance, cinematic production, dance, and theatre productions. In short, you have been omnipresent across the arts at Denison.

But that’s just the start – your talent for bi-location is further evidenced in your multiple other roles and honors: music fellow, cinema assistant, perennial disc jockey for WDUB, stalwart member of the staffs of June and August Orientations, LeaderShape participant, theatre box office manager, and recipient of the Distinguished Leadership Award. You were also Video Production Intern for the Columbus Blue Jackets, shooting and editing a commercial for the Junior Jackets Hockey team. Your short film, Open Door, which deals with violence against a gay man, was most impressively selected for screening at both a national and an international film festival. With credits such as these on your record, perhaps you’ll understand our expectation that eventually you’ll be our first alumnus to win an Academy Award!

Bryan, one of your nominators says that you are “intensely devoted to Denison.” Your record clearly bears out the accuracy of that observation. And so, if and when you do walk out on another stage to accept an award from the Academy, know that we will be as proud to be your alma mater then as we are on this stage today.

Student Achievements:

Young Scholar; Dean’s List; Phi Beta Kappa; Denison Honors Program; Gwendolyn Martin Scholarship; Heritage Scholarship; Marimac Scholarship; LeaderShape; Jeanne Vail Scholarship; Department of Music – Fellow, Music Theory Tutor; Department of Dance – Videographer; Department of Theatre - Box Office Co-Manager; Department of Cinema – Assistant; Office of Student Activities – Office Event Assistant; National Association of Campus Activities – (NACA) Convention Delegate; WDUB-FM – DJ; University Programming Council (UPC) – Vice President; Who’s Who Among American Colleges and Universities; June Orientation - Staff; August Orientation – Staff, Coordinator; OUTLOOK; Film Screenings: Washougal International Film Festival, COMMFFest Community Film Festival, GLBAA Dinner; LeaderShape; Badminton Club.