Lincoln, Neb.—Forty-four Huskers—34 first-year students and 10 transfer students—have been selected to join the latest cohort of the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) emerging media arts major housed in the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts.
This is the seventh and second-largest cohort for the program, which began in the fall of 2019. There will be a total of 145 emerging media arts majors this fall.
While 33 of the 44 students hail from Nebraska, this year’s cohort also includes students from California, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas.
“We have an immensely talented and diverse group of students coming into the program this year,” said Megan Elliott, Johnny Carson Endowed Director in Emerging Media Arts. “I’m excited to see the contributions they make to our program and to UNL.”
The Carson Center is part of the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film in the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. A key part of the emerging media arts curriculum is preparing students for the hugely disruptive forces of artificial intelligence and virtual production that are changing the workflows of industries, including film, animation and games.
“While we are learning to remain agile and learn new tools like AI, storytelling, community and the need for humans to make meaning of the world won’t change. Those are the tenets of our program,” Elliott said.
Applications for the fall 2026 cohort will open soon. Details will be available at https://go.unl.edu/applyema.
Following is a list of students selected to the 2025-2026 emerging media arts cohort by hometown with their high school listed in parenthesis. If the student is either a transfer or re-admitted student, then “transfer” is listed instead of a high school.
Nebraska:
• Beemer: Micah Goedeken (Transfer).
• Bennington: Ryker Jones (Transfer).
• Columbus: Kyah Curtis (Lakeview) and Angel Osorio (Transfer).
• Geneva: Kathryn Godown (Transfer).
• Gretna: Ariana Aristy (Gretna) and MaryJane Fletcher (Gretna).
• Kearney: Nathan Bauer (Kearney); Cody Bridges (Kearney); Mads Mather (Kearney); Maxwell Mizner (Kearney); Braeden Wall (Kearney); and Karson Wright (Kearney).
• Lincoln: Katelyn Bennett (Lincoln High); Hazel Goeden (Transfer); Donald Graff (Lincoln North Star); Madison Lemons (Lincoln Northwest); Andrew Morris (Lincoln Southeast); Isabella Provost (Lincoln East); Nessa Rutherford (Transfer); Annabeth Schubert (Transfer); Brayden Thelander (Lincoln Northeast); Sophia Weed (Transfer); and Brett Zimmerman (Lincoln Southwest).
• Omaha: Aydan Jordan (Omaha Central); Emma Kaczmarek (Marian); Sophia Keele (Westside); Andrew Lawler (Creighton Prep); Claire McNeil (Transfer); and Keiry Romero (Omaha South).
• O’Neill: Adilyn Shald (St. Mary’s Academy).
• Pierce: Amelia Ahlers (Pierce).
• Wymore: Olive Sabey-Vogele (Southern).
Elsewhere:
• Pasadena, California: Jack Nelson (Pasadena).
• Rancho Cucamonga, California: Danica Trinite (Alta Loma).
• Bourbonnais, Illinois: Brayden Douglas (Bradley Bourbonnais Community).
• Chicago, Illinois: Johanna Rickey (Lincoln Park).
• Stanton, Iowa: Riley Burke (Stanton).
• Olathe, Kansas: Ava Evans (Olathe Northwest) and Katherine Mulloy (Transfer).
• Shorewood, Minnesota: Evelyn Ring (Minnetonka).
• Tulsa, Oklahoma: Keagan Sponsler (Jenks).
• Rapid City, South Dakota: Tianna Boerke (Rapid City Central).
• Odessa, Texas: Jacob Lechtenberg (Permian).
