Grace Raddenbach and Amy Schmitt

Reading Time | 3 minutes

What do you see as the most beneficial aspect of being a part of the mentorship program?

 GRACE  For me, I think the most beneficial aspect about the mentorship program has been the one-on-one connection with the mentor. And the fact that it is not just about animation; it is about learning the industry and learning from the mentor’s experience. Amy has been really great about providing guidance with my animation work, but also offering advice regarding how to understand and navigate the industry as a recent grad.

 AMY  Working as a mentor has taught me the importance of listening. These days, people can get technical help on anything and everything by going online, so they don’t need that from a mentor. With Grace, I wanted to share my personal experience to give her a sense of what might be out there, but more importantly, I want to support and encourage her to find her own path.

What skills have increased the most as a result of this mentorship?

 GRACE  As a result of this mentorship, I feel more capable of handling a long term project start to finish. During the mentorship, I worked on my senior capstone project, “Ra’na’s Story.” It helped a lot that in the beginning stages. Amy shared with me her process and how she usually begins tackling big projects. A lot of it has to do with not being too precious with the project in the beginning stages, and be very willing to be flexible and seek out feedback from others.

How often do you communicate, and in what way?

 GRACE  Most of our contact has been via email. This has been the easiest because during the majority of my mentorship we were in different cities, and were pretty busy. We did meet in person over the summer when I had an internship in the cities. That was great because we went through my animatic and talked about things for me to keep in mind when starting production. Over email, I would send her the latest versions of my animation, and she would send her notes back. Email has been really helpful because it is a record of the advice and feedback she has shared with me. Being a person who forgets things easily, I find that aspect of email very helpful in retaining that information.

What do you see as each other’s best attribute?

 GRACE  Wow, it is really hard to pick one! One of her best attributes is how approachable she is. She is very easy to talk to, and I really appreciate the thoroughness of her responses when I ask a question or am looking for feedback. Her answers are also very real and relatable, and based on years of experience. She is also very timely, and has been really great with checking in to see how I am doing. I feel very fortunate to have been paired with Amy. Her work is amazing, and it continues to inspire me to try new things.

 AMY  I can’t pick just one attribute. When I met Grace, I was immediately impressed by her as a person. She’s driven, kind, intelligent and thoughtful about her work. She has a professional attitude, is open to comments and critiques and is very good at brainstorming solutions for problems. I recently had the opportunity to work on a team with her and once again, she impressed the hell out of me. I am so excited to see how she brings her voice into this crazy animation and motion graphics scene.