We are consistently impressed by our undergraduate Spiders whose hard work is nationally recognized by others in the fields they aspire to join. For example, the first short film that sophomore Jonas Fryer, ’21, produced has now been accepted to three professional film festivals — and counting.

Titled “Wake-Up Call,” his film has been selected as a semi-finalist at the Peak City International Film Festival and an official selection at both the Top Shorts Festival and the upcoming Poe Film Festival in Richmond.

“Since Jonas had never touched a camera before joining my Intro class, I was very impressed,” said his film studies professor Sonja Bertucci. “I saw a student who blossomed and found his own creative voice. He led a crew, made directorial choices, and worked countless hours to fine-tune his film.”

Congratulations, Jonas! We are so proud of everything you’ve achieved so far and can’t wait to see your next project.