On April 18th, the University of Iowa hosted their annual Alumni Day, which brought graduates back to campus and allowed them to connect with their fellow alumni, faculty, and current students.

The event strengthened the department's sense of community and highlighted the beneficial impacts of alumni engagement. Students left with valuable advice and new professional connections, while alumni had the opportunity to reconnect with the department. 

"Our students love hearing from our alumni, in part because Cinematic Arts is not a discipline with a linear career track. It's so inspiring to hear how our alumni have brought the creative skills, critical insights, and project management experience they gained as Cinematic Arts majors into the professional sector. Whether they're involved in the film industry directly or have transferred their writing and production skills into non-traditional career paths,  visits from our alumni are increasingly a highlight of co-curricular programming in our department." - Department Chair and Associate Professor, Dean Bakopoulos

Alumni events are the occasions that make the future feel tangible for students. They show how a network of people who all started here continues to grow beyond campus, and how those connections shape the future of our programs and the students moving through them. Not to mention, a space to reflect and celebrate how far our alumni have come. 

"It was really fun for me to see the alumni community come together and support the current generation here at the university. It was clear to me that many alumni still have a strong connection for their time at Iowa and enjoy finding ways to stay involved with the university community. Alumni Day felt like a good reminder of the many different paths students can take after leaving Iowa, and I appreciated the university for putting in the effort to represent the Cinematic Arts Department!" -Cinematic Arts Student Ambassador, Jakob Bovenmyer

To tie together an eventful day, FilmScene hosted a free screening of Is This Thing On?, followed by a post-screening Q&A with University of Iowa alumnus, actor, and award-winning composer Scott Icenogle (Communication Studies '91).