Achievements Spotlight

When Rowan Kidd (‘26 apparel, merchandising, and design) heard about the interviews for the design positions, she thought, “I’m probably not going to get it, but I might as well try.” As a new participant in ISU Theatre, she was shocked and excited to be selected as the costume designer.

“I had no idea that it was out of the ordinary for all of the designers to be students,” she said.

Because the audience was seated on stage, Kidd planned costume details that traditionally wouldn’t be visible to a Fisher Theater audience, like science-themed socks for the show’s eccentric Dr. Moxie. Her biggest challenge was designing the costume for pregnant waitress Jessa, which required a pregnancy belly and thoughtful fitting of the actor’s dress. Designing her first show has only solidified Kidd’s interest in professional costume design.

“I want to continue working with ISU Theatre, Kelly, Doris, and everyone here because they’re all amazing,” Kidd said. “It’s helped me know that this is something I can do for the rest of my life.”

Jarod Hart is an aspiring musician and composer currently pursuing a degree in Instrumental Music Education and Composition at Iowa State University, with an expected graduation date in Spring 2026. Being from Story City, Iowa, Jarod has deep roots in the local community, which have helped shape his artistic journey.

Jarod is an emerging talent in the world of music, currently making significant strides as the Assistant Music Director for the ISU Opera Studio's production of Die Fledermaus. With a deep passion for the arts and a keen sense of leadership, Jarod is not just honing his musical skills but also developing his ability to guide and inspire those around him.

In his role as assistant Music Director, Jarod has taken on the responsibility of mentoring his peers and classmates. He describes this experience as transformative, stating, “Being the assistant Music Director and having to guide my peers and classmates has helped me grow as a leader.” This opportunity has allowed him to explore the nuances of collaboration and creativity, essential elements in the production of opera.

Jarod is simultaneously working on an exciting new project with his brother Luccas, titled Little Miss Apocalypse. This innovative show is set to be presented at Jarod’s senior recital, marking a significant milestone in his artistic journey.

Little Miss Apocalypse reflects Jarod and Luccas’s unique vision, blending the thought-provoking themes with engaging music and compelling storytelling of a young girl’s journey to find her way in life post-apocalypse. The collaboration with his brother not only strengthens their creative bond but also showcases their shared passion for the performing arts.

Choosing the Department of Music and Theatre at Iowa State was a natural fit for Jarod, as he appreciated the well-established network of connections in the area and the diverse professional pathways available within the program. Looking ahead, he is considering pursuing a master’s degree in composition. If he chooses not to continue his studies, he plans to focus on composing educationally appropriate music.

Jarod encourages prospective students to embrace the flexibility ISU has to offer. "I have been able to carve my path with the support and freedom provided by my professors."

Bobbie Buie (‘25 English, performing arts) also had a big challenge – designing a single set that would function seamlessly in two wildly different locations.

“The show is about fantastical things like dinosaurs and time travel, but also things that are grounded in reality, like a diner and found family,” Buie said. “It was fun to strike a balance between the familiar and funky sci-fi elements.”

Buie focused on the set’s textures, with hand-painted floor tiles that mimicked linoleum; retro, blue vinyl diner booths and stools; and sandy, plant-dotted landscaping that evoked the Southwest. The entire production team met weekly, but Buie also met individually with the other student designers to authentically integrate the speakers, lighting, and props into their scenic design.

“It was a fun challenge to design it in the round,” Buie said. “It’s a very circular show thematically. Instead of considering one image, you have to consider four perspectives. It’s a little mind-boggling.”

Buie said they appreciated the mentorship of ISU Theatre’s resident scenic designer and technical director Brian Seckfort and the partnership of student assistant technical director Callie Server as they brought their research and ideas to life.

Benjamin majored in Kinesiology. He began his undergraduate research experience during his sophomore year as a research assistant in Dr. Karri Haen’s lab. Within this lab, he focused on prosthetic development with 3-dimensional printing filament types, component modeling, and prototype construction. Additionally, Benjamin is an Undergraduate Research Assistant (URA) for Dr. Lee’s lab in the Kinesiology Department. Through this position in the PAAS study, Benjamin focused on both physical and cognitive testing on participants within the study. More specifically, specializing in NDD electronic spirometry. Following graduation, Benjamin plans on attending medical school to pursue his interests in human anatomy and physiology.

Emily majored in Statistics with a certificate in Actuarial Science and a minor in Data Science. She began undergraduate research through the First-Year Honors Mentor Program, where she worked with Dr. Alicia Carriquiry and Dr. Danica Ommen on forged signature recognition research through the Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence (CSAFE). She continued her research over a summer REU program with CSAFE at Iowa State University, ending the summer with a presentation at the International Association of Identification conference. Currently, Emily is continuing her research of forged signature recognition while advancing her knowledge of RStudio and statistics within forensic science.

Mckenzie is a Genetics major with a minor in Music. She began research in the spring of her freshman year under Dr. Qian Wang (Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition). Through this position, she studied the impact of genes APOE & TOMM40 on mitochondrial morphology and Alzheimer’s disease. The project is conducted via Piggy-bac plasmid transfection on a HEK293 cell-line model. Mckenzie took great interest in studying human genetic disorders, particularly neurological functioning or muscular dystrophy. After completing her bachelor's, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. so she may actualize her dreams of working in academia and managing a genetics laboratory.

Harper majored in microbiology with a minor in global health. She started research through the First-Year Honors Mentor Program where she was paired with Dr. Timothy Bigelow to work on ultrasound enhanced wound healing techniques. After her second semester, she took up an undergraduate research assistant position in the B.A.I. Genetics Lab under Ping Kang. There she currently works with drosophila, recording demography of populations and caring for stock specimens.

For Macey Brackin (‘24 performing arts), “Always Plenty of Light” was all about details in more ways than one. “This show is about confronting the things that scare us and taking time to be happy in the moments we are given,” she said. “I want the audience to come away thinking about all the little things in life that make it so worth living.”

And it’s the little things Brackin had to think about as props designer, from ketchup bottles to prehistoric bugs. Her biggest goal was to be environmentally conscious, and she went on many “treasure hunts” through ISU Theatre’s storage hub to find items that could be reused or reimagined.

“Being in the round was the hardest bit for me because the audience is right there,” she said. “I made menus that actually had prices and food on them. I hope the props were realistic enough that people didn’t notice they were there.”

Brackin said one of the best parts of the design process was collaborating with her peers. “I love all the other designers. They are so much fun, and they’re so talented. It’s been really awesome to have my friends as my collaborators,” she said.

Aaron Mueller (‘24 performing arts) faced many challenges as a first-time sound designer. He had to create a custom speaker set-up and design three distinctive soundscapes: the everyday din of an Arizona diner; a whirlwind trip through time; and the unfamiliar, threatening noises of the Cretaceous period.

Mueller created sound loops with noises such as wind gusts, desert cicadas, and the mysterious cries of creatures from the rainforest. He learned to manually automate his digital audio workstation to pan between four points to surround the audience with directional sound. He even transmitted some sounds through a retro radio.

“Time travel is the sequence I spent the most time on,” said Mueller, who is also a music technology minor. “I took some inspiration from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and its tornado. I started with low rumbling and wind sounds and whooshing sounds. Large bass speakers underneath the risers provided the primary rumble of the scene.”

Mueller said dynamic conversations with the other student designers helped spark his creativity.

“It was really fun to come up with these grand ideas and then talk about how we make them happen logistically,” Mueller said. “It constantly shifted how we think about specific moments or the show in general.”

Lighting designer Hannah Johnson (‘24 construction engineering) drew inspiration to design vibrant, dangling stars; a giant metallic ceiling fixture; and a kaleidoscope-inspired color palette for a time travel adventure.

Johnson, who has an electrical construction emphasis in their major and career goals in architectural lighting design, said it was exciting for the designers to reinvent Fisher Theater as a black box studio.

“All of my fundamentals of texture and color and intensity for lighting still remained in this type of space, but it’s so much more intimate,” Johnson said. “It was a lot more challenging to figure out my angles for lighting.”

Johnson said having a student-led design team was special and is an experience that sets ISU Theatre apart.

“In other places, you have to get to the graduate level even to be able to design, so having an opportunity like this as an undergrad is amazing,” Johnson said. “I hope our alumni continue to support us to do these things and come back to see our shows.”

Andy started research as a freshman with Dr. Kristin Rozier and worked on projects regarding sensor data and unmanned aerial vehicle traffic manangers. They completed a research experience for undergraduates for implementing specifications on a traffic manager using R2U2 and had an internship last summer at NASA where they analyzed flight software for any potential undetected errors or dead code. Currently, they are working as a Boeing Research Fellow and has a grant from the NASA Iowa Space Consortium to continue researching formal methods. Andy is also researching Assume-Guarantee Contract theory in order to quickly validate system requirements and verify system spaces in order to improve the saftey and liveness of different systems. They are working to expand an existing algorithm that exploits the patterns in Assume-Guarnatee Contracts to more easily discover dependencies in a systems design space.

Nethmi involved herself in inorganic materials chemistry research in Dr. Kirill Kovnir’s group, department of chemistry, at Iowa State University where she worked on synthesizing novel materials for energy applications. In Fall 2021, Nethmi did a SULI (Science Undergraduate laboratory Internship) with Ames National laboratory where she worked on the synthesis of quaternary sulfides. Nethmi did an NSF-funded MRSEC REU in the summer of 2021 at the University of Minnesota, department of chemical engineering and material science, where she worked on designing new multi-phase ceramic coating materials. In 2022 summer, Nethmi did a MRSEC REU at Northwestern University, department of materials science and engineering, where she worked on polymers and epoxy materials for magneto-heating. After graduation, Nethmi plans to attend graduate school to pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry or materials science.

John began his undergraduate research experience during his sophomore year as a research assistant in Dr. Sakaguchi’s lab. Since then, he worked and assisted with research on several projects in the lab alongside other undergraduates and graduate students. One of his initial projects focused on studying the effect of drug treatment on the development of adult rat hippocampal stem cells using a microfluidic device model. John also worked on a project during undergrad that involved studying the effect of electrical stimulation on the proliferation and differentiation of the same neural stem cell type growing on 3D-printed microchips loaded with graphene. Following graduation, John plans to continue his education and attend medical school.

Abigail started research with the First-Year Honors Mentor Program with mentor Dr. Donald Sakaguchi studying mesenchymal stem cell bone regeneration. She continued in that lab, and her research project focused on utilizing a biopolymer conduit to promote nerve regeneration. She also conducted research in other labs at Iowa State, studying RNA folding and structure. She hopes to attend graduate school and obtain a Ph.D. in biological sciences focusing on stem cell biology. She hopes to have a career in research.