Visual and Communication Arts Careers

EMU students have remarkable opportunities for professional networking, internships, and media exposure.

VaCa student work in photography, digital media, art and videography has received attention from national and international media. The Washington Post covered our class documentary on the Kurdish community in Harrisonburg, and the BBC ran student photos from the documentary on their website.

Digital media grad Joel Landis interned at an advertising agency specializing in film trailers in Los Angeles. After graduation, he moved into a full-time role as video editor. He now creates film trailers for major motion pictures and is based on the West Coast.

An Interview with Joel Landis '10, film trailer editor, www.joellandis.com

Matthew Gillis ArtMatthew Gillis, a photography major, interned for National Geographic Adventure in New York City, the D.C. United soccer team and Oregon’s Statesman Journal. He was the winner of an Associated Press Photo of the Month.

Steven Stauffer ArtSteven Stauffer submitted his class photography portfolio to the Festival of the Photograph and was awarded a scholarship to study with National Geographic photographer Bill Allard for a week. Steven’s work was shown at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville to an international audiencethat included some of the best known photographers in the world.

Art major Kari Martin’s work was exhibited in three shows in the region during her senior year, and her paintings were selected for a consortium student show at Bridgewater College. They were also the only student works accepted into an invitational show, “Red” at the Smith House Gallery. Additionally, Kari won an award for one of the paintings in the nearby Artful Dodger’s first juried show.

Our graduates are bringing their Visual and Communication Arts training to a variety of vocations.

Here are a few samples:

Zachary Nafziger ’01 is a full-time stained glass artist and owner of ZN Stained Glass in Harrisonburg. 

Renee Holsopple Glick '04 is a creative director at Peloton in New York City.

Ashley Sauder Miller ’03 is a mixed media artist who maintains a regular studio practice and actively exhibits her work.

Artist Melinda Steffy ’03 is also an experienced nonprofit executive. In 2020 she launched her own consulting practice, Concentric Strategy, which provides planning and communication services for arts and education organizations. 

Michael Spory '11 is a project manager and designer in Washington DC at VMDO Architects.

Frank Ameka worked as a media designer for James Madison University. His photography has been published in Time Magazine.

Mary Yoder-Anderson curates, runs and markets her secondhand clothing shop Dart, in Harrisonburg.

Justin Roth '12 is the Senior Associate Director of Marketing Design and Strategy at James Madison University in Harrisonburg.

Todd Yoder is a self-employed illustrator and painter in Portland Oregon. His work can be found at Todd Kenton Yoder Illustration.

Mark Fenton is a media specialist with Gravity Group in Harrisonburg.

Katie (Rodriguez) Schmid runs her photography business, The Commoneer in Harrisonburg. 

Jon Styer is a self employed digital media specialist and designer in Keezletown Virginia. 

Monika Burkholder '11 is an art therapist in Staunton Virginia at Open Path Collective.

Alyssa Breidigan '22 is a wedding photographer in Virginia. 

EMU is not responsible for the content of external links. This information was updated in April 2023.

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