The Student Ambassador Program is a unique opportunity for students to engage in conversation with renowned international designers and technicians attending the annual conference.

Three student members will each be paired with one of the three visiting international guests with similar areas of focus. The interchange is designed to foster international networking between early designers/technicians and our global colleagues. Student members will be chosen for this honor in Houston based on their fields of study, compelling application, and letter of nomination/ recommendation from a mentor. Student Ambassadors will receive free conference registration and a luncheon with the three international guests.

The deadline for applications is Jan. 31, 2020. Send in your applications, here!

Meet our three international guests for 2020

Jerildy Bosch began as a dancer/actress in Mexico. After founding her own company, she started designing costumes for shows she directed, and now designs for their National Theatre Company, National Opera Company, and National Dance Company. Her design vocabulary is focused on making sensations grow from texture, which has fired her passion for searching for new materials and exploring new techniques. She received a Gold Medal for her costume designs in PQ2019. 

Josefina Cerda Puga is a sound art designer from Chile, where she works at the Universidad de Chile. She is exploring new relationships between scenery and spectator, which produce a sound revolution that aesthetically and politically transforms the experience of the scene, incorporating sound as a formal axis of creation, reaching beyond technical elements.

Natalia Sedano of Mexico was honored as the most promising student of the PQ 2019. She is a recent graduate of the National School of Theatre Arts of Mexico, having trained in scenic, costume, lighting, and production design. The jury admired her unique vision where, “forests become fabrics, fabrics become landscapes: Nature becomes somehow un-natural…(with) huge vegetables exploded on impact, rooted humans with bare feet.” Theatre design in Mexico has frequently been recognized by PQ and WSD juries, and this is your opportunity to find out about how designers there are trained to expand their theatrical vision.

Jeff Sherwood, a 2019 Student Ambassador Program participant reflected on the value he experienced from establishing a lifelong connection with his international guest. Below are Jeff's heartfelt words.

"I wanted to write and let USITT know just how much I appreciated the opportunity to participate in the Student Ambassador program. It is perhaps one of the greatest hidden gems of the USITT conference, and I hope you can share my experience to let others know about this great opportunity.

I originally heard about the program through my mentor, Richard K. Thomas, who recommended me for the program.  When I did more research about previous student ambassadors, I stumbled across a USITT Sightlines article featuring Sarah Robins’s experience in 2016.  I was touched by her experience in discovering her international heritage, as I myself have a half-Korean background.  When I found out that South Korean sound designer and composer Junghoon Pi was coming to the conference, I seized the opportunity to accompany him around the conference.

Though I grew up in South Korea, my passion for theatrical sound design and composition didn’t sprout until after moving to the United States.  I had so many questions about what it is like working in Korea as a sound designer, and also sought career advice as I navigated my graduate studies.

As part of the program, there were some excellent group events where the students and international guests met and created lasting friendships as fellow artists.  Wenger & J.R. Clancy sponsored a great International Reception Wednesday night and the USITT International Activities Committee sponsored a wonderful luncheon Thursday afternoon, which provided opportunities for interesting conversations.  At these events, I met the other international guest artists who included Xóchitl González Quintanilla and Pawel Dobrzycki, and their student ambassadors Yvonne Chang and John A. Mitchell.  From our discussions I found that art is an international language that knows no bounds and connects all of humanity on a fundamental level.

In addition to the group interactions, I most highly valued and appreciated Junghoon Pi’s kindness in meeting with me individually.  I felt like he was my ambassador, as he mentored me in sound and music.  We discussed all sorts of topics ranging from the philosophy and approach to sound design, scoring music for film, and collaborating with directors.  It was helpful that the application process allowed me to refine and clearly articulate my questions for Junghoon, and it of course generated more questions.  Junghoon was so gracious to answer my many questions, and I will always cherish the stories and experiences we shared at that conference.

An unforeseen bonus was that Junghoon’s installation art collaborators Kimchi and Chips, international artists Mimi Son and Elliott Woods, were also presenting their work at the conference.  Getting to meet his collaborators and learning from their processes was beyond what I imagined getting from this experience.

The program concluded with a reception on the Stage Expo floor, where other students interested in international study and work abroad opportunities could meet the international guests.  It was great for me to meet and get to know fellow students who share a curiosity and interest in international art and studying and working abroad.

I hope that more people can find out about this unique and rewarding opportunity.  USITT is all about networking, or as I like to call it “friendshipping,” and the Student Ambassador Program is an amazing way to expand your connections and broaden your vision to meet and discuss art with international artists.  We can all learn a great deal from looking at the world through different lenses.

Thank you again for hosting this program, and for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime."

-Jeff Sherwood, 2019 Student Ambassador Program participant

More information and application, here.