Sorraya Brashear-Evans ’16 recently won an Emmy award in the category of News Special for her animation work for the 2019 anniversary coverage of 9/11 on CBS New York.
While working as a graphic designer for CBS New York, Brashear-Evans created the opening animation for the segment, “18th Annual Tunnel To Towers Special,” which featured interviews of 9/11 survivors, family members, and emergency personnel.
“The project involved a month of 12-hour work days and being pretty much on-call every day,” Brashear-Evans said. “It was a really moving special and I am glad that it got the recognition it deserves.”
Brashear-Evans, who watched the Emmys at home with her partner and surrounded by her cats, was completely surprised by her win. “Oh, I was screaming when I found out. I was in shock,” she said.
Brashear-Evans credits her undergraduate degrees in Journalism and Interactive Multimedia (IMM) for her storytelling skills.
“IMM gave me the foundation I needed in graphic design, but journalism gave me an understanding of the structure of a story,” she explained. “They complimented each other. I knew how to tell a good story and it was easy to mold the two. I figured out what art elements would accentuate the story. Although I wasn’t personally writing or reporting it, I understood what the writers were going for and I was able to translate it to a visual aspect.”
Brashear-Evans is currently working for Discovery, Inc. as a Product Designer and pursuing her graduate degree at the Academy of Art University. She also teaches Time Media and the Fundamentals of Digital Compositing as an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Design and Creative Technology.
“Learning doesn’t stop once the class stops,” she said. “To separate yourself from others, you need to hone your art style and skill set outside of the classroom.”
— Madison Bui ’24