They had bronchial asthma when they were young.
They almost had a ruptured appendix and underwent immediate surgery to have it removed when they were 13.
They were bullied in middle school.
They dropped out of elementary school once due to family relocation.
They dropped out of a traditional high school once (Existential Depression) to pursue an international path.
They had never done art for the first 17 years of their life.
They were captivated by an animated film series and felt a genuine connection deep within their soul.
They gave up a secure path in computer science and changed their major to art at the age of 18.
They never considered themselves an artist but rather a human being who uses philosophy and imagination as a way of understanding life.
*They dropped out of college twice to pursue their dream of working in animation.*
*They met one of the most important mentors of their life, a Supervising Animator at DreamWorks, when they were 19.*
They were studying at college while also animating with industry professionals outside of school.
They ended up vomiting in the bathroom due to a workaholic schedule while trying to balance two schools at the same time.
*They almost achieved their life-long dream at the age of 20 but had to return to college for 3.5 more years to qualify for a work visa.*
*The Supervising Animator(The Wild Robot) at DreamWorks introduced them to contacts in Canada.*
They continued doing animation on the side to maintain their skills while trying to finish college for a visa.
They experienced their first panic attack during Christmas 2022.
*They were then offered a job interview (Apple TV & Disney+ animated series) in Canada but the work permit did not come through.*
They dropped a course to focus on animation, leading to F-1 visa termination for not maintaining 12 credits.
They continued working with Pixar and Disney animators to further strengthen their skills.
They worked with a Sony animator and applied to Canadian colleges, hoping it would help with their work permit situation.
They experienced a study permit rejection for Canadian colleges after dropping out of college twice.
They thought their life was over.
They emailed a U.S. art college that had granted them a scholarship, trying to re-enroll and apply for a new F-1 visa within a month.
They began learning screenwriting in their new major.
They switched their major for the third time to Visual Studies for a comprehensive understanding of art while animating on the side.
*Academy Award Member, Supervising Animator and Co-Director at Pixar (Inside Out & Cars Toon) decided to mentor them privately.*
