Staff Profiles

Alikiah Barclay

Public Policy, 2013

When he took the elective Movies in 8th grade, Alikiah world was opened by the joys possible through in multimedia production. As the years passed on he also found it to be a useful at communication tool. He’s excited to share what he has picked up along the way, and gaining more skills. If you’re at MPS West laying down a track he’d be happy to be featured or background vocal. He’s also a member of the SLG Ubuntu, an America Reads and Counts Tutor at Carter Community School, and a member of a host of finance related organizations at Duke.

Billy Baumgartner

Economics, 2014

Three of my biggest hobbies are film production, music production, and photography. I have made many films, ranging in topic from a 30 minute short horror film about zombies to a documentary illustrating conditions and culture in rural Haiti. I also produce classical, hip-hop, dubstep, and house music, and DJ at parties around campus and Durham. I also play club lacrosse at Duke and my favorite color is purple.

Richard Cao

Undecided, 2015

My first experience with filming and editing movies (my forte if you will) occurred while I was a young fish in high school and since then have fallen in love with art of making movies. I taught myself Photoshop in order to fulfill a nerd fantasy; Superman teaming with Spiderman anyone? Football is another one of my life passions, so when I’m not watching or playing football somewhere, I’ll help any of your MPS questions.

Austin Powers

Undecided, 2015

Austin has been editing video on computers since third grade and working in television since fourth grade. He’s produced quite a few videos since then, including silly PSAs, dryly informative news pieces, and even his boss’ wedding. In middle school, he was a television weatherman. He’s worked in every position from anchor to director, cameraman to editor. He’s also an award-winning theatrical lighting designer. Along the way he’s picked up fluency in Apple’s Final Cut Studio suite, Adobe Photoshop, and a smattering of other tools you might call his “digital toolbox”. He is interested in a major somewhere in the realm of history, law, and political science. Austin has always enjoyed helping others with their multimedia projects, and yes, he was born before the movies.

Chris Dieguez

Masters in Divinity, 2014

Chris is a grad student at Duke Divinity and a long-time lover of photography. He is experienced with Photoshop, Final Cut, and Power Point, and can put a sleek edge on any presentation. In his free time, he enjoys photographing landscapes and wildlife, biking, and (of course) surfing Wikipedia for hours on end.

Isalyn Connell

Visual & Media Studies Major, Neuroscience Minor, Markets and Management Certificate, 2014

Isalyn is a sophomore from New York City. She absolutely loves anything that allows her to be creative—from doodling on all the margins of her notebooks, to designing her own clothes. She is a self-taught graphic designer and photo editor working primarily with Adobe Photoshop and InDesign, but is always down to explore the unknown as well. Her love for the medium stems from magazines, of which she devotes an entire closet to at home. Her two idols in life are Grace Coddington and Sofia Coppola, and her dream is to be either a creative director of a publication or an indy filmmaker. In addition to working in the MPS, she is an editor of DMIX magazine on campus and a member of Delta Gamma.

Michael Kelly

Computer Science major, Finance minor, 2014

Michael has been creating and designing websites since he was 12 and loves anything related to web development. Since then, he’s worked on his own as a freelance programmer, creating everything from a website to sell raffle tickets for his sister’s gymnastics team to a portal for a New York radio station. Outside of all things web development, Michael likes hanging out with his friends and running.

Hanna Meteferia

Visual and Media Studies Major, Markets and Management Certificate, Womens Studies Minor, 2014

On an average week, you can find Hanna running between salsa dance practice, teaching at Club Blvd Elementary school, or training at the gym training for a half-marathon . She knew coming into Duke that she wanted to pursue filmmaking but had no experience or any idea of where to start. After trying a handful of interesting visual arts courses, and studying film production abroad in Italy, she discovered her love for film editing and post-production motion graphics. At Duke, Hanna leads projects in the Center for Documentary Studies, and spends a large chunk of her time at time at the MPS Lab both for work and classroom projects. She wants to create a study at Duke using film and photo editing/retouching techniques to observe how female subjects perceive women in everyday life and the entertainment industry. She hopes to someday be a food journalist/beach yoga instructor/travel guide writer/owner of two Bernese Mountain dogs.

Jackie Giusti

Major in Computer Science & Visual arts, Minor in Sociology, 2013

Jackie is from Texas. She has wanted to work with animation since high school, hoping to pursue work with Disney someday. Entering college, she tried different majors and started studying computer programming. With advancing her love for all types of digital media and graphics as well, she enjoys working on and continuing to learn the Adobe Creative Suite, film production, and animation. She loves photography and music as well, and is always thirsting to learn more.

Thomas Hargis

Master in Divinity, Certificate in Prison Ministry, 2015

Multimedia has always been a passion of mine since I was younger. I remember the first time a clone tool ended up on the side bar and how that saved still photo editing hours on end. I enjoy working on movies, stills, creative graphics websites and using the different ways we see the world and media to interact with each other. There is always something to learn and new ways to put a light saber into some type of presentation.

Conrad Haynes

Visual Art Major, Computer Science Major, AMI Certificate, 2013

I have a passion for working right at the crux between Visual Art and Computer Science. This has pushed me towards User Experience Design, Animation (2D/3D), and Graphic Design. I was recently on the Duke In LA program where I worked with a Motion Graphics Company and took classes in Interactive Design and Visual Effects. I was also employed with both DIDA as a web / graphics intern and the DiVE in a summer marketing / art position. Outside of this, I am an actor with the Theater Studies Department (experience with demo reels), love to play soccer, and enjoy traveling.

Annie Krabbenschmidt

Undecided, 2015

I am interested in film and television, especially comedies. I love editing film, especially if you can create something comical out of a particular edit. I also love fiddling around with photoshop for the same reason. I’m in a Comedy group (“Inside Joke”) and we do sketch comedy and stand up. This is my first year at MPS and I’m excited to start working with this group!

Joe Park

Economics Major, AMI Certificate, 2014

I became clear of my passion in film after coming to Duke. I’ve taken several AMI courses and I loved them. I am planning to take the Duke in LA film program. I want to focus on film production, film editing, and movie marketing. I am involved in both Freewater Presentation and Freewater Production at Duke. I am also the member of the Duke Blue Screen Guild. I have some experience in a TV commercial production company. I am a huge fan of Christopher Nolan and James Cameron. I am also interested animated films and musical production.

Rebecca Dickerson

Undecided, 2015

I’m very interested in film, particularly documentary work. I am taking a European film class and documentary film class this semester, so I am learning to analyze film and its impact on society. If all goes according to plan, I will major in Visual Media Studies and get certificates in Markets and Management as well as Documentary Studies. In terms of extracurricular activities, I sing in the Duke Chorale, play on the club lacrosse team, served as a FAC, and am involved in the Westminster Presbyterian Fellowship. I am also starting a group on campus called React to Film, which is a nonprofit that screens three movies per semester at college campuses to promote social change.

Suyash Kumar

Biomedical Engineering, possible Chemistry minor, Genomes Certificate, 2016

Suyash has always had a longtime passion for all things technology—spanning across everything web design and media production to software development and hardware tinkering. He has worked on several software projects (including an iPhone app and an open-source media-library) and actively maintains a personal web space on the Internet. He really loves to explore, do, and create beautiful new things with technology, and has picked up experience in everything from Adobe Creative Suite to Garageband since he started programming and deeply working with computers in the 5th grade. Outside of his technology pursuits, Suyash loves to make good music (on Tenor Sax, Flute, or Piano), compete in Tae Kwon Do, build cool things, meet new people, and explore the wonders of the world through Science!

Hellen Gilles

Civil Engineering/Visual Arts, Certificate: Architectural Engineering, 2014

I first used iMovie for some class projects in high school. I encountered Matlab and other engineering and architectural related software in my sophomore year of college. Since then I have taken art classes that introduced me to Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Final Cut Pro X. I continue to use these programs for recreation as well as part of schoolwork. I enjoy playing around with new art mediums, cooking, and exploring Durham. I also love to snowboard in the winter when I can escape the warm southern Arizona that many people flock to.