"I found Vivian to be a sharp, intelligent, hard-working, and highly motivated student. Her tremendous work ethic was most evident in the two consecutive classes she took with me, F/TV 72G “Animated Film Pre-Production Workshop”, and F/TV 72G “Animated Film Production Workshop”, in which students develop their own animated films from scratch. The students set and follow their own work schedules, and some are deliberately less ambitious while others are over-ambitious and fall behind. Vivian, on the other hand, was a star student. She created a challenging schedule for herself and kept to it religiously, resulting in her finishing a 2 minute long hand-drawn animated film in just two quarters. (This feat is even more impressive considering that she was using Autodesk Sketchbook which is sub-optimal software for serious animation production.) Vivian was like a machine, overcoming any inexperience or lack of polish with sheer volume and determination. Her final product, a charming, lyrical piece called “The Boy Who Fell From The Stars,” was selected for inclusion in the De Anza student film festival, as well as the ASIFA-SF Spring Showcase 2018.

During Spring Quarter 2018 I hired Vivian to be the teaching assistant for my 3D modeling class. When she started working for me, she already had two other jobs with the campus library and Starbucks. As a TA, Vivian was always on time, cheerful, and proactive, checking with me the night before to see if there was anything she needed. In helping the students, she was resourceful and went the extra mile to solve complicated technical issues. Vivian soon became a favorite of the students, who collectively groaned with dismay when I announced she was leaving to take an internship.

When I first met Vivian, she impressed me with her initiative. She explained that she was relatively new to drawing, having started just four years ago, but she was working hard to catch up to her peers. She asked me for help during my office hours, and was very diligent about taking my pointers and practicing them on her own.

I believe Vivian has all the qualities needed to hold her own and thrive. She will bring boundless optimism and enthusiasm, as well as a rapidly improving set of drawing and animation skills. In the year or so that I have known her, I have seen that once she puts her mind to something she works single-mindedly until she achieves it. She is determined to succeed and I have no doubt that she will."

Teresa Dey (pronounced \'Dī\ )
Film/TV Animation Instructor
De Anza College