Rise and shout! BYU fans will soon have a new cougar to cheer for. Thanks to the combined efforts of two BYU engineering capstone teams and a group of theatre and media arts (TMA) students, Cosmo is getting an animatronic counterpart in the theatre department. Designed to introduce plays and similar events, “Cosmotron,” as he is fondly known, will bring added school spirit to BYU performances. While engineering capstone projects typically develop products for clients outside the university, the theatre department’s desire to have an animatronic cougar provided an excellent learning opportunity for students from both ends of campus during the 2020–21 academic year. Animatronics are commonly built for amusement parks and films (think Disneyland and Jurassic Park), and their creation requires a wide range of engineering and artistic skills. “We will fight, day or night, rain or snow”: Creating Cosmotron When they first brainstormed Cosmotron’s design, the students were unsure they’d be able to pull off the complex task. Somehow, they needed to fit all of the necessary parts inside the cougar’s small head and make sure that each team’s work — mechanical engineering components, electrical and computer engineering components, and software controls — could come together to make a working puppet. Read the full article by Christie Allen at news.byu.edu. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSDa5sdZsT0&list=TLGGLxuerL5AFpQyMTA1MjAyMQ&t=1s

Savannah Porter is @byumusic student and Soprano Section leader of @byusingers. During her time at BYU, Porter has cultivated an impressive list of accomplishments, including the recent "Singer of the Year" title from the BYU's Young Artist Competition. For Porter, it all stems from her passion, hard work, and determination.

Thanks to the combined efforts of two BYU engineering capstone teams and a group of theatre and media arts students, the beloved mascot Cosmo is getting an animatronic counterpart in the theatre department.

"Being an artist is all about being excited about lots of little things. I feel like my truest artist self when I see beauty in a piece of trash on the street or witness a funny interaction at the gas station- most of all it Is about being an active observer."

Jessica Jensen Walker from Cache Valley, Utah graduated with a BA in dance education in April. She was chosen to speak for the spring 2021 convocation on behalf of the BYU Department of Dance.

The final Listen Up! event of the Winter ‘21 semester featured professor Nyama McCarthy-Brown from The Ohio State University

"When I was a freshman in High School, I knew exactly what I wanted to study and how long it would take me to graduate. Well, to my surprise, God had different plans for me. I didn’t get into the major I wanted, and after getting rejected time and time again, I finally declared a degree in Music Education. Realizing that that degree also wasn’t for me, I created my own: the Bachelor of Arts with an emphasis in Contemporary Voice Performance. It is now an official major that anyone can apply to, and I am very proud of that."

New leadership will oversee the School of Communications and the Department of Theatre and Media Arts

“I think being a BYU student has helped give me some clarity on what I actually want to do in my life. It’s been a blessing because I’ve taken so many different classes, that I’ve been able to see trends and things that I enjoy and help develop myself as a person.”

Several students received recognition for their work in the Department of Theatre and Media Arts

Meet Fiona Barney, another recent graduate with a BA in art. Barney was one of two students who represented @byuart in the 2021 CFAC convocation. During her experiences studying at BYU, Barney had several opportunities to step out of her comfort zone. From traveling to Scotland to teaching high schoolers, her education has truly followed the BYU motto “The world is our campus.”

The BYU Art Department announced student recipients of scholarships and awards on April 8