Wake the Arts is shining a spotlight on some of our extraordinary 2024 graduates. There are so many incredible members of our arts community in the Class of 2024, and this is our attempt to highlight some of them. What makes a successful Wake Forest graduate? We think the Arts are the secret ingredient—whether a student's major was Psychology or Studio Art, Mathematics or Music, Biology or Theatre—these students make us so proud and are destined for greatness.
Nathaniel Avery
Major: Theatre
Nathaniel worked onstage and behind the scenes on numerous Wake Forest Theatre productions, and sang bass with the Chamber Choir for four years. After an internship with North Carolina Black Repertory Theatre, he is headed to the Florida Studio Theatre as a Stage Management Apprentice.
Sabrina Bakalis
Majors: Studio Art, Mathematical Business; Minors: Art History, Statistics
Sabrina recently had successive solo exhibitions on campus at the Hanes Art Gallery and at Brockway Recruiting Center in the School of Business. She also served on the 2024 committee for the Mark H. Reece Collection of Student-Acquired Contemporary Art, where she helped purchase new artwork for the University. After graduation, Sabrina will be working for Moody’s Investor Services as a Ratings Associate for their Securitization team. She plans to use these skills to pivot into securitization for art as an asset class.
Ananya Bali
Major: Psychology; Minors: Education, Linguistics
Deeply involved in theatre on and off stage, Ananya was part of the Anthony Aston Players for four years and served as its vice president. She plans to work in mental health counseling.
Leanna Bernish
Major: Psychology; Minors: Health & Human Services, Dance
In addition to honing her skills with the Wake Forest Dance Company, Leanna has been a Stamps Scholar studying environmental science and anthropology. She will continue on campus as Wake Forest's Campus Life Fellow.
Brighid Biehl
Major: Studio Art; Minors: Art History, Cultural Heritage and Preservation
Wake Forest has a great sense of community—I’ve found it in the art department—that’s why I’m really happy I got to spend four years here.
As a Presidential Scholar in Studio Art, Brighid served on the 2024 committee for the Mark H. Reece Collection of Student-Acquired Contemporary Art, where she helped purchase new artwork for the University. After graduation, she is moving to Raleigh, N.C. to work for an art conservator who has restored paintings for Wake Forest, Reynolda House, the North Carolina Museum of Art and other other universities in the Triad.
Sarah Cadena
Major: Theatre; Minor: Creative Writing
Sarah's talent was on display both onstage and behind the scenes. Not only that, she brought her skill and energy to local classrooms at Speas Elementary as part of Wake's innovative and collaborative "Theatre in Education" program.
Sofia Campbell
Major: Biology; Minors: Dance, Neuroscience
As a premed student, Sofia conducted research for four years with Christina Soriano and IMPROVment® as well as with Dr. Christina Hugenschmidt at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, exploring the cognitive and physical benefits of dance on the brain. She has tirelessly performed with the Wake Forest Dance Team and served on the Executive Board of the Wake Forest Dance Company.
Payton DeLuca
Major: Health & Exercise Science; Minors: Dance, Chemistry
Payton conducted research for four years with Christina Soriano and IMPROVment® as well as with Dr. Christina Hugenschmidt at the Wake Forest School of Medicine, exploring the cognitive and physical benefits of dance on the brain. She has performed with the Dance Company and Dance Team. Payton plans to attend dental school after a year of dancing professionally.
Jolie Dumay
Major: Politics & International Affairs; Minors: Dance, African American Studies
An accomplished dancer, Jolie has performed as a member of the Dance Company and Dance Team, as well as Winston-Salems' Otesha Performing Arts Ensemble. Jolie served as president of Africasa, Wake Forest's student-led African and Caribbean organization and found time to give back to the community by cultivating a new dance organization called Caaffro—designed for students of the diaspora to get the chance to freely express themselves and learn more about their cultures through dance. She plans to expand this study in Ghana.
Samantha Goodman
Majors: Studio Art, Psychology
My studio art major combined with my experience in psychology has opened a lot of doors for me.
A Presidential Scholar in studio art, Samantha teaches a weekly art class at Brenner’s Children’s Hospital. After graduation, Samantha will work as a summer art camp counselor and then will pursue a master’s degree in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling from UNC Chapel Hill.
Anna Gramling
Major: English; Minors: Creative Writing, Psychology
Anna has been an intern for the WFU Press has completed a prose work set in Cornwall for her creative honors thesis. She also served as the short story editor for Wake’s Three to Four Ounces Literary Magazine. Anna plans to work in publishing and pursue an MFA in creative writing.
Grace Greenwald
Majors: Art History, Communication
In addition to her art history research, Grace served as the Director of Photography and Partnerships and as the President of WFU Style, Wake Forest’s fashion and lifestyle blog. She also wrote for Wake Forest’s branch of The FIT Magazine, worked as a computer science student tutor for Student-Athlete Services, and has been an active member of Wake's Marketing and Advertising Club.
Sydney Johnson
Major: Documentary Film
Sydney is the first dual MA-MFA graduate of the Documentary Film Program. She produced two thesis films during her tenure at Wake Forest. Her MFA thesis, UpHILL Battle, follows Dr. Ashley Ward as she attempts to be the first climate expert elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Her MA thesis film, Camogie: The Fastest Game on Grass, is an in-depth look at the traditional Gaelic game of camogie in a small village 36 kilometers outside of Dublin, Ireland. After graduation, Sydney plans to move to New York City to pursue a career in independent filmmaking, focusing on creating documentaries centered around the intersection of politics and sports.
Amanda Jones
Major: Art History; Minors: History, Anthropology, Cultural Heritage & Preservation Studies
Amanda loved working as an intern at Reynolda House Museum of American Art, where she has also had the opportunity to lecture on the John Singleton Copley painting in the Wake Forest University Art Collection. After graduating, she’ll move to DC to pursue a masters in art history at Georgetown University.
Meredith Jordan
Major: Business & Enterprise Management (Marketing); Minors: Art History, Spanish
As an Art Department research assistant, Meredith studied the life and work of Irish artist Daniel Maclise (1806-1870) and English artist George Lance (1802-1864). She plans to attend graduate school to continue her dedicated studies in art history.
Maryam Khanum
Majors: Communication (Film), Politics; Minor: Philosophy
An active filmmaker, Maryam served this year as one of the co-directors of Wakeville, Wake Forest's student-organized interdisciplinary arts festival. She served as the multimedia managing editor for The Old Gold & Black and as executive editor for The Magnolia. Maryam also worked in the Special Archives and Collections digitization lab and as Events and Publications manager for WAKE Radio.
Aimee Lents
Majors: Music, Sociology
A Richter and URECA Scholar, Aimee graduated with honors as a Music major in the liberal arts concentration. She plans to go to graduate school to continue studying musicology at Boston University.
You’ve definitely heard Aimee perform—not only was she drum captain in the marching band, she also frequently played the carillon bells in Wait Chapel's iconic tower.
Sophia Lourduraj
Major: Biophysics; Minor: Economics
In addition to her studies in biophysics, Sophia was a member of the Wake Forest Symphony Orchestra, playing violin.She worked as a physics tutor with the Center for Learning, Access and Student Success (CLASS) and a virtual tutor with the Office of Personal Career Development (OPCD). Sophia plans to work in biophysics research, and she hopes to eventually go back to school for a postgraduate degree.
Campbell McEntire
Major: Music; Minor: Environmental Studies
A Presidential Scholar in Music, guitarist Campbell McEntire graduates as an honors Music major in the performance concentration. He was first place winner of the annual Giles-Harris Open Competition. Campbell is headed to graduate school for guitar performance at the University of South Carolina.
Jason Najjar
Majors: Art History, Economics; Minor: Arabic
An Economics and Art History major with a minor in Arabic, Jason led a student focus group for a ten-year review of the Arabic Language Program. He conducted research on health economics with Dr. Christina Dalton and on Nigerian art with Dr. Sule James. Jason also served on the 2024 committee for the Mark H. Reece Collection of Student-Acquired Contemporary Art, where he helped purchase new artwork for the University.
Aditi Samavedy
Major: Psychology; Minors: Sociology, Politics and International Affairs
A Presidential Scholar in Music, Aditi sang in the WFU Chamber Choir and the a cappella group MeloDeacs. She will be joining the Dean's Office as a Wake Forest Fellow in the fall.
Evan Souza
Majors: Theatre, Biology
I’m excited to see how my graduating class affects humanity—telling stories, writing cutting-edge journalism, discovering new things in labs or working in politics—we're really excited to get out there and start.
A Presidential Scholar in Theatre, Evan has been involved in 18 productions at Wake as well as working behind the scenes on lighting design, which gives him a chance to bring his knowledge of physics to the fore. He also worked as a President’s Aide. After graduation, Souza will work as an acting apprentice at the Florida Studio Theatre.
Eric Wang
Major: Biology; Minors: Music, Chemistry
A Presidential Scholar in Music, Eric served this year as one of the co-directors of Wakeville, Wake Forest's student-organized interdisciplinary arts festival. He also was president of Musical Empowerment, a non-profit where WFU students offer music education and mentorship to children. A brilliant pianist, Eric was 1st place winner of the annual Giles-Harris Piano Competition.
A Reynolds Scholar, Eric was selected for the postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award offered by the National Institutes of Health (NIH IRTA). As part of this funded postbaccalaureate program, he will undertake research full-time with the NIH.
Yutong Wang
Major: Molecular Biology; Minors: Studio Art, Neuroscience
To prepare for her solo exhibition at stArt Downtown, Yutong collaborated with Wakerspace, using the CNC router to crete uniquely shaped surfaces for her paintings. The work was inspired by locations she visited while studying abroad in Austria. Her experience in molecular biology and neuroscience also informed her creative work, capturing the process of sectioning brain slices on a vibratome for voltammetry.
Cami Wilson
Majors: Music, Philosophy; Minor: Linguistics
A Presidential Scholar in Music, Cami discovered her interest in choral conducting after a Richter Scholarship-funded trip to England. She conducted the WFU Chamber Choir and Concert Choir as part of her senior project and also served as Music Director for the a cappella ensemble Demon Divas.
Malachi Woodard
Major: Sociology; Minor: Creative Writing
Malachi has worked as a graphic designer with the Campus Life marketing team to help plan artistic direction on their social media channels. A talented vocalist, he has won honors in the annual Giles Harris Music Competitions as well as winning the D.A. Brown Award for Creative Writing in the Department of English.