Graduate Stories

Growing up in Crisfield, MD, Arielle Tesoriero always knew she wanted to be an artist. She graduated from Salisbury University in 2019 with a BFA in Painting. While at SU, she diligently studied under Professor Jinchul Kim, her mentor and advisor. Tesoriero made great strides as a student, leading the creation of SU's first Undergraduate Research Journal, Laridae, in which her art was featured on the first issue cover. In 2019, she was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa and was awarded the President's Award, Dean's Award, and Library Award for Fine Art. Salisbury University acquired her two paintings, "Cult" and "Unclean Yellow," to their permanent collection.

In 2022, Tesoriero graduated from the New York Academy of Art with an MFA in Painting. In her first semester of grad school, she began experimenting with her practice, starting with sculpting and painting, finding her unique artistic voice. Tesoriero's multidisciplinary work explores how power and consumption intersect with trauma experienced in girlhood. Her pieces illustrate the internal conflicts and external pressures that girls face throughout their lives and reflect how women engage with and are affected by cultural and societal consumption.

Her work has been featured in New American Paintings, Create Magazine, and The Untitled Magazine. In 2022, Tesoriero was awarded the Kylemore Abbey Artist Residency in Connemara, Ireland, and was selected as a finalist for the New American Paintings Emerging Artist Grant, participating in SWELTER: New American Paintings Review Exhibition at Steven Zevitas Gallery in 2023. Her work has been exhibited across the East Coast and internationally. Tesoriero currently lives and works in New York City as an administrator at the New York Academy of Art.

Hannah completed her BFA with a concentration in Glass Art from Salisbury University in 2016. She studied under Professor Steven Durow during the majority of her time at SU. Originally from New Jersey, she moved back post graduation. What started out as a part-time glassblowing instructor position, turned into the lead instructor and manager position at the Morris County School of Glass in New Jersey. Hannah thoroughly enjoys educating people about the world of glass art. Teacher assisting for Professor Durow while at SU was a great precursor for her current job. In addition to the programming Morris County School of Glass offers the public, Hannah has been teaching Beginning Glassblowing at her workplace through the local community college, County College of Morris. Since graduating, Hannah has attended the prestigious Pilchuck Glass School, studying under John Miller; she has also taken several classes at Urban Glass. While she is passionate about teaching, Hannah loves expanding her own knowledge of the material as well because she is able to learn new techniques and become a better teacher to her own students. Hannah hopes to continue working with glass throughout her life and is planning to implement programs that use glassblowing as a form of art therapy in the years to come.

Leah Lewman Laird grew up in Ellicott City, MD. Her family exposed her to many different facets of the art world, but her focused interest in the visual arts and painting became clear while studying at Salisbury University. Under the mentorship of artists like Jinchul Kim, Edward Brown, and Carl Goldhagen, she completed her BFA in Painting in 2013. After earning her undergraduate degree from Salisbury University, Leah Lewman Laird moved to Tucson, Arizona to complete a three-year MFA in 2D Studio Arts at the University of Arizona with a teaching assistantship. In this conceptually-driven program, her work evolved rapidly. Her previously figurative work became more focused on landscape and abstraction, and her artistic media expanded to drawing, collage, and environmental installation. Since graduating in 2017, she has exhibited her works nationally, participating in events such as the 2016 Wet Paint MFA Biennial at the Zhou B. Art Center in Chicago, IL, and a solo exhibition at VisArts Concourse Gallery, Rockville, MD, in 2019. Laird is currently an Adjunct Lecturer in Painting and Drawing at the University of Maryland College Park and Frederick Community College.

Andy is a 2012 Graduate with a BFA in Graphic Design with a focus in Illustration. He had an internship Summer of 2012 at Cartoon Network Studios on the show Adventure Time as a Production intern. During that time he worked hard and made a great impression on the production team. His classes at SU helped him stand out - the in-depth understanding of Photoshop in the graphic design and digital photography classes made him a fast and efficient worker. The team interviewed him for a Production Assistant position before he returned to SU to finish his senior year. After graduation, he flew back to California to start his animation career. He continued to work on Adventure Time for 5 years. Climbing from Production Assistant to Production Coordinator. He was also given the privilege to work on the last season of Samurai Jack. Towards the end of Adventure Time, he tested for a Color Design position on Summer Camp Island. The Art Director liked his production experience and his colors, and he joined the team in 2017. Two years in as a Color Designer on Summer Camp Island, he was reached out to by a Disney recruiter. They were impressed with his portfolio and wanted him on one of their shows. He couldn't refuse their generous offer and accepted. He left Cartoon Network in 2019, and is currently working at Disney TV Animation as a Color Designer on the show "Amphibia".

Kim strives to be a lifelong student, always eager to learn and be inspired. During her spring semester of junior year, she extended her studies at the Lorenzo de’ Medici Institute in Florence, Italy, the birthplace of art. Her experiences abroad diversified her visual palette and enhanced her skill set - she even won “Best in Technical Capacity” at the institute's year-end art show. For two summers, Kim interned at SPARK Experience, a research and creative agency where she discovered her passion to create extraordinary experiences based on user research-driven design. During her last semester of senior year, Kim was awarded “Best Portfolio” at SU’s biannual senior art exhibition. Thereafter, Kim graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design and began her career at SPARK where she designed for clients like National Cathedral, National Geographic, Goodwill, and United Nations Foundation. At the age of 25, after almost 5 years interning and working for SPARK, Kim moved to Silicon Valley, California to continue her career in user experience as an interaction designer for Google.

Amber finished her BFA in 3-Dimensional Design with a concentration in Glass from Salisbury University in 2004 and she continued to study MFA in Glass/Ceramics from Tyler School of Art in 2011. She is an artist and educator in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, currently working as an adjunct professor at Tyler School of Art at Temple University. Amber has recently been awarded The 2012 International Procter Fellowship at The Australian National University and was one of three artists chosen for The Toledo Workshop Revisited Residency at The Toledo Museum of Art. This summer Amber was selected by Contemporary Glass Philadelphia, CGP to represent the Philadelphia area as their "Rising Star" at Wheaton Arts 2013 GlassWeekend. She is also included in the exhibition Twenty-First Century Heirlooms at The Racine Art Museum which will open in the summer of 2013. Amber is currently represented by Heller Gallery, New York.

After earning her BFA in Painting from Salisbury University, Jee Hwang went to graduate school at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. While in New York, she worked as an intern at A.I.R. Gallery, and the New York Foundation for the Arts, assisting with their public programs. Jee was awarded the 2009-2010 A.I.R. Fellowship and Emma Bee Bernstein award. She also received a partial scholarship to the Vermont Studio Center, in Johnson, VT. Her work has been shown in many group shows, and in a solo exhibition at Porter Contemporary Gallery in New York. She was a visiting Assistant Professor at the California State University- Chico in Chico, California from 2017 to 2018. Jee is currently an assistant professor in the Art Department at the Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas.

Kenneth Brown was born in Hempstead, New York. His family moved to the Eastern Shore, and he was introduced to the arts at a young age through the Maryland Summer Center for the Arts, at Salisbury University. Later, he attended SU, earning a BA degree in 2-D Studio, with a focus on drawing and painting under the guidance of professors Gary Brotman and Jinchul Kim. After graduating from SU, Kenneth moved to Brooklyn to study with Linda Francis and Ross Neher at Pratt, earning his BFA in Painting in 2007. He has had solo shows with Bishop’s Stock Gallery, and 23rd & 5th. Called Viewing Burlesque, his latest show featured portraits of the Neo Burlesque performers of NYC. He has also been included in numerous group shows including New Contemporary American Realist Biennial 2008 and 2010 at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. Currently, he works as an Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Pratt.

Nikole’s love and passion for design as a young child translated to adulthood when she began her college career at Salisbury University, where she practiced sketching initial design concepts, illustrating hand drawn typography and realizing customized illustrations to enhance her graphic design assignments. After graduation, Nikole moved to Washington DC and began working full time as the sole in-house graphic designer for the DC Jewish Community Center. The creativity she was able to foster at Salisbury University was the perfect stepping stone for this job. The DCJCC offers a prominent Theater in the district, a preschool, Fitness and Aquatic Center, Gallery, Community Engagement programs, summer camp, and etc. Nikole also works on a variety of freelance projects including branding for a vineyard in Virginia, creating custom wine labels, T-Shirt designs for local coffee shops, and a number of wedding invitations.

"Hot Glass, Cool Art", is a short video piece telling the story of alumni Tim McFadden, who won the 2006 Bernstein Award and used the money to help start his glass studio in Baltimore. The Bernstein Award is a $5,000 prize awarded annually to a student who proposes a potentially successful business plan. Although he majored in business at SU, Tim got hooked on glass blowing as a first year, and found a way to turn his passion into his profession after graduation.