Alumni Spotlight — Sean McDermott
Sean McDermott, BADAS’19, always wanted to contribute to a greater purpose and bring joy to others. The Digital Worlds Institute helped him achieve these exact things and prepared him to step into his role as a 3D animator at Glass Cat Studios.
Sean worked on projects, met industry professionals, and participated in portfolio building events while studying at Digital Worlds. Outside late-night coffee and Taco Bell runs from the lab, Sean says he enjoyed the “patience, guidance, kindness, and pure dedication to their crafts” displayed by the professors he grew close with at the lab. “Keep an open mind,” says McDermott, “and always look to learn something from every person you meet and every project you work on.”
In what ways did your experience at the Digital Worlds Institute prepare you for your career?
The leadership and passion of the faculty as well as the dedication of the students around me inspired me to always work hard and be the best I can be. I learned to always be open to learning and growing from everyone you meet, push myself every day, and never give up. These things and the environment DW provided allowed me to do these exact things and prepared me immeasurably for what I’m currently doing.
What do you like most about your current career?
I love being able to contribute to something bigger than myself to bring joy to others. I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to work with super cool people on even cooler projects with a chance to bring others joy.
What are your favorite Digital Worlds memories?
Oh, there are so many! Some of my favorites include throwing boxes around the classroom to record reference for animation, the Return of Mr. French, late-night coffee and Taco Bell runs while working on projects, meeting my industry professional teacher’s friends in different parts of the industry, the holiday parties, the events dedicated to building our portfolios, and more. It truly was a pleasure to be surrounded by such wonderful people and create such fun memories.
What advice would you give to current Digital Arts & Sciences students?
Keep an open mind and always look to learn something from every person you meet and every project you work on. Be sure to respect others and their work like you would respect your work. Lastly, the relationships you build with people throughout your life/career are just as important, if not more, than the work you end up doing.
Please feel free to add anything else about your education, career, or personal life that isn’t captured by these questions.
I love and appreciate everyone at DW, but I’d love to give a special thanks to Chelsea Cantrell, Aaron Karlson, Darius Brown, Dr. Kyle Bohunicky, Seung Hyuk Jang, and Ivan Francuski for their patience, guidance, kindness, and pure dedication to their crafts. I grew closest to these people during my time at DW, and I would like to put a spotlight on the amount of care, love, and sacrifice they provide every day for their students. I wouldn’t be where I am without these people. If you all see this, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
