The SCA Community Impact Council held its annual SCA Impact Awards on May 4, celebrating the work of 30 students who were nominated for outstanding contributions to building community at SCA, with 8 of them taking home division awards.

In the spirit of the council’s work—which aims to help everyone at the School achieve personal and professional success while finding community and a genuine sense of belonging—the ceremony honored everyone who had been nominated. The nomination process allowed students to nominate themselves, or their peers. Any of SCA’s divisions could also nominate a student for recognition, with the division’s liaison to the council acting as the nominator. The award winners were then chosen by an awards committee comprised of four council liaisons.

This year’s eight award winners were:

Veer Ojas Khanna, Division of Cinema & Media Studies, who mobilized students across USC to co-create Kathaa, an Indian cinema club, which hosts screenings and events, as well as a podcast that has featured various media industry workers internationally. 

Ziyun Xiao, Expanded Animation Research + Practice (XA), who was recognized for a body of work in animation and robotics that showed how technology could support emotional expression, with filmmaking as the tool.

Matteo Aldon, John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts, whose capstone film is in tribute to his Filipino heritage and specifically addresses the immigrant experience.

Selwa Sweidan, Media Arts + Practice, recognized for a body of work that centers social justice and uses various technologies, including augmented reality, algorithm studies, human-computer interaction, and haptics. 

Massimo Soto, Kevin Feige Division of Film & Television Production, recognized for emotionally impactful documentary work, including for the USC football team; and for actively creating networking events, including parties, for students to get to know each other and have fun.

Duncan Teater, Kevin Feige Division of Film & Television Production, who was awarded for creating multiple projects and collaborations with fellow students, including as the showrunner of "Still Here Still Queer,” the division’s first documentary series, which explores the current lives of inspirational gay men who lived through the AIDS pandemic.

Jon Young (Jenny) Kim, Peter Stark Producing Program, awarded for innovative and equitable producing practices, including hiring practices that ensured representation on the screen was reflected among the crew, so that marginalized filmmakers were structurally supported and able to collaborate without tokenization.
 
Lauryn Bedford, John Wells Division of Writing for Screen & Television, recognized for a body of work primarily focused on Southern gothic and Afro-surrealist stories about identity. Her short film CLUCKY'S about a fast-food worker just trying to get through the day, was produced at USC as a 546 winner.

The twenty-two nominees whose work was also acknowledged by the awards committee were: 

Kevin Feige Division of Film & Television Production: Rishi Chitkara, Phoebe Sifan Liu, Paul Michael Joseph, Mikayah Lee, Isabella Cuda, Eemaan Qadri
John Wells Division of Writing for Screen & Television: Safiya Nicol, Rhea Dudani, Jack Siebert, Gabriela Perez, Danny Chicon- Ramirez, Allie Woodson
Division of Cinema & Media Studies: Diego Landaverde Marquina, Christian Drew-Ussery
Business of Cinematic Arts: Ebi Penawou
Expanded Animation Research + Practice (XA): Jiaxi Wu, 
Media Arts + Practice: Sichong Xie, Kayden-Harmony Greenstein, Kamryn Arjoon
Peter Stark Producing Program: Nia Rae Lambert, Maureen Zeufack
USC School of Dramatic Arts: Smera Chandan