They came with questions. They left with answers, connections, and a feel for what makes ������Ƶ different.

Families explored all 13 majors at the Resource Fair, toured studios where student work lines the walls, grabbed lunch at Cunniffe Commons, and heard directly from current students about what campus life actually looks like. The conversations happening in hallways and at tables throughout the day? Those were the real highlights—prospective students connecting with faculty who could become their mentors, parents asking the practical questions that matter, everyone getting a sense of whether this place could be home for the next four years.

Didn’t Make It? There’s Still Time.

If you missed Open House, Ringling Spotlight Day on Friday, March 6, offers another chance to experience the campus. It’s a focused half-day visit: meet faculty, connect with your admissions counselor, tour campus, hear from current students, and get your questions answered by the people who’ll support you from application through graduation.

Learn more and register online. 

Your campus visit just got more valuable.

We’re confident you’ll feel it the moment you step on campus—that spark of recognition that this might be the right place. So confident, in fact, that we’re backing it up with our new Ringling Visit Scholarship: a $4,000 scholarship ($1,000 per year over four years) for incoming students who attend an on-campus tour or admissions event and are accepted and enrolled for Fall 2026 or later.

Sometimes the best decisions start with just showing up.

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While Kambara is quick to say that she’s not an artist herself, she has built a career around facilitating creative people. “I always wanted to support artists,” she said on Rising Together. “I just needed to be around creativity all the time.”

And for her job, “Creativity ends up being how you manage projects and how you manage others and how you’re able to support a team to take care of the vision.” That type of organizational thinking is exactly what’s needed when assembling a portfolio.

For prospective students, portfolios are a way to clearly demonstrate artistic capabilities like perspective, depth, dimension, and even color theory. The work itself should get all the focus, argued Kambara. Any unnecessary explanations or muddled captions will detract from your perceived skill level.

That’s why the veteran producer and production coordinator recommends that students start early, building their portfolio a little at a time so that the end result is clear and organized rather than rushed and jumbled.

“A nice thing about working on it over time is you can step back and see what you may want to edit before you submit it,” said Kambara. “If you procrastinate, it gives less opportunity for editing and getting feedback from others.”

That being said, you’re not trying to turn the portfolio into a work of art in and of itself. The point of the portfolio is to let your actual artwork speak for itself, and the best way to do that is to put it out there and then get out of the way. The presentation shouldn’t overshadow the artwork by being overly showy or complex.

“Your portfolio work will speak for your style and voice—let your work shine and show who you are,” said Kambara. “Lay out an organized presentation of your work and use a uniform font for the text.”

“A non-cohesive presentation is a common mistake,” she added. “When portfolios are not presented in a cohesive way, it can distract the reviewer from intently looking at your work.”

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Fall Open House
Saturday, October 4, 2025
9 am-2 pm

Open House offers a closer look for students considering a future in art and design. Guests can learn more about the majors, clubs, and resources available for students. They will meet faculty and current students from each of ������Ƶ’s unique degree programs, along with information about admissions, financial aid, student life, access services, and more.

Throughout the day, visitors will have the rare opportunity to explore behind-the-scenes spaces that aren’t always part of the daily campus tour. Highlights include:

• ������Ƶ Studio Labs, including soundstage and post-production areas
• The state-of-the-art Esports Arena, home of the Ringling Rollers varsity team
• Tours of residence halls and other key campus facilities
• A closer look at the First Year Studio Program and student work

Registration for is free and available now.

National Portfolio Day

������Ƶ will host two NPD events this year: one in Houston, Texas, and one on Ringling’s campus. 

National Portfolio Day events are held nationwide to help students better understand the expectations of art college admissions and receive constructive critiques to strengthen their portfolios. 

Register or learn more about both events, and find a schedule of happenings for the October 12 event on the College’s NPD webpage. 

Whether you’re just beginning to explore your college options or ready to take the next step toward an art and design career, ������Ƶ’s Fall Open House and National Portfolio Day are two can’t-miss events that offer inspiration, insight, and invaluable guidance.

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The competition challenges students to solve a fictional design problem: to conceptualize a mobile, all-weather merchandise cart that delivers a unique, immersive retail experience to theme park guests. For many young entertainment design professionals working in the themed entertainment industry, designing a Themed Cart is a typical first design opportunity. Entrants are encouraged to think beyond traditional retail, infusing their designs with innovation, storytelling, and an understanding of how guests engage with physical spaces in entertainment environments.

Submissions opened September 1 and will be accepted until November 30, 2025. The winners will be announced in January 2026.

Get Inspired

Prestigious Prizes and Opportunities

Up to three top winners will receive a VIP behind-the-scenes experience with Universal Studios, including travel and accommodations, plus:

• A $20,000 tuition scholarship to an undergraduate program at ������Ƶ (non-transferable; dependent on admission for Fall 2026 or Fall 2027)
  
• Full tuition scholarship to Ringling’s PreCollege program in Summer 2026 or 2027
  
• Half tuition scholarship to Ringling’s PreCollege program in Summer 2026 or 2027
  

Select finalists will also receive a Ringling/Universal Studios merchandise prize package and have their work included in a special exhibition at Universal Creative or another Universal Studios-owned facility.

Who Can Enter?

The competition is open to U.S. high school students currently enrolled in grades 11 and 12 during the 2025–26 academic year. 

Interested students can download the official project brief—which outlines all the submission guidelines and creative parameters—from ������Ƶ’s website. This document serves as a roadmap to help students craft their entries and better understand the expectations of themed entertainment design.

Encouraging the Next Generation of Designers

The competition underscores ������Ƶ’s commitment to fostering innovation in the arts and entertainment industries, particularly through its Entertainment Design major—one of the few programs of its kind in the country. By collaborating with Universal Studios, the college offers high school students a rare opportunity to gain exposure to professional design challenges and receive feedback from industry leaders.

Students and educators are encouraged to visit ������Ƶ’s official website or follow the college on social media for updates. For more information, competition guidelines, and access to the project brief, visit ������Ƶ’s official website.

Learn more about the competition.

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“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Chopka to the ������Ƶ creative community,” said Dr. Larry R. Thompson, president of ������Ƶ.

“John brings to this role more than three decades of admissions experience and a remarkable track record in building enrollment strategies centered on student success, access, and institutional values. His thoughtful, holistic, and data-informed approach to enrollment management will be vital as we advance our vision of becoming the preeminent art and design college in the world.”

Dr. Chopka will oversee ������Ƶ’s comprehensive enrollment and marketing operations and collaborate across departments to support the full student lifecycle—starting with their first contact with the College. His approach prioritizes retention and student satisfaction, leading to notable success at Messiah University, including first-to-second-year retention rates of 85–88% and five-year graduation rates of 77–79%.

As a first-generation college student from West Virginia and Ohio, Chopka is an unwitting scholar and administrator whose life has been dramatically transformed through higher education. His story is one of overcoming cultural barriers to higher education to ultimately become an impassioned champion.

A passionate advocate for inclusion and belonging, he led strategic efforts at Messiah University that more than tripled the enrollment of students of color and expanded international student recruitment through teams focused on cultural intelligence and global outreach.

His deep belief in the power of education, along with his strategic vision, collaborative nature, and data-driven leadership, will strengthen Ringling’s ongoing commitment to building a diverse and thriving student body.

Chopka and his wife, Debbie, recently relocated to Nokomis and are eager to immerse themselves in the Sarasota region’s rich arts and cultural landscape. This year has been particularly joyful for the Chopka family, as both of their adult children were married in 2025. He is also an avid hiker who has backpacked in many of the U.S. national parks. In their free time, they look forward to exploring Southwest Florida’s many parks and beaches. 

“I want to extend my deepest thanks to our faculty, staff, and the dedicated members of the search committee who worked diligently with our search partners at NES to bring this search to a successful conclusion,” added Dr. Thompson. The committee members supporting the search chair included Jeff Bleitz, Ashley Burt, Christina Hess, Tiffany Holmes, Alejandra Lance-Henterly, Darren Mathews, Martin Murphy, Seongwoo Nam, Jennifer Price, Sara Robinson, Dr. Tracy A. Wagner, Jon Walsh, and Dr. Tammy S. Walsh.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. John Chopka to ������Ƶ.

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941-309-4008

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When assembling an artist portfolio, Caloiaro emphasizes observational work that demonstrates technical ability more than personal expression.

“The biggest problem I see [in student portfolios] is including too much fan art or other work that does not clearly demonstrate foundational abilities,” Caloiaro said. “It’s fine to include pieces that demonstrate your ability to invent and conceptualize, but most schools want to see your observational work. As an art professor myself, this is what I look at most seriously when evaluating student work.”

While aspiring artists are eager to demonstrate individual style and perspective, Caloiaro urges patience. Style should be built on a solid foundation, and there will be plenty of time for personal style to evolve organically.

“At the student level, I don’t think artistic voice is something that should be emphasized as heavily as observational work,” he said. “Individual artistic voice will develop naturally. It’s like handwriting—everyone has a unique way of writing that develops without any real intention of individuality.”

Still, he added, “observational” is not the same as sterile photocopying. Good observational art still leaves room for a sense of perspective and emotion.

“Creativity is something that comes through more in conceptual, narrative or inventive work, but it also shows in simple things like how the individual artist makes marks or interprets the subjects that are being drawn, painted, or sculpted,” he said. “It’s important to not just copy things in a formulaic way, but do so with expression and enthusiasm. You can creatively respond to your subject without approaching it with mathematical stiffness.”

For teachers, too, there’s a balance to be struck between pushing the foundations and allowing for individualism. “If you get away from the fundamentals too soon, the student will be much less versatile,” he explained. “And if you stifle too much of their creativity, their work can get sterile and dull.”

It’s a balance he admits that he struggles with himself. The key is to read the situation.

Caloiaro said that teachers are responsible, in part, for broadening students’ horizons by exposing them to widely varying styles as they develop.

“Once they are farther along in their schooling, it’s important to expose students to wide range of influences (both historic and contemporary), so the student is less likely to just regurgitate the same type of work that they are seeing on the internet, social media or even from their peers,” he said.

Portfolios, especially when you’re trying to get into art school, can become an all-encompassing pursuit. But it is possible to put too much emphasis on compiling a portfolio, at the expense of the art itself. Above all, Caloiaro added, “Don’t stress about it.”

“While it is important to have the portfolio in mind, the work that is done throughout the school year should not be simply viewed as a means to an end, but should be done with skill and passion.”

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The first-ever Theme Park Design Competition presented by ������Ƶ will be open to all U.S. high school juniors and seniors from September 1 to November 30, 2025.

This year, the competition requires all entrants to conceptualize a mobile merchandise cart that could be used in outdoor theme parks. Each student entry will be evaluated by a prestigious panel of judges, including professors from ������Ƶ, Universal Creative, and other experienced professionals in the entertainment design industry.

The top prize winners of the Theme Park Design Competition will win a $20,000 tuition scholarship to ������Ƶ and an exclusive VIP “behind the scenes” experience at Universal Studios Florida with complimentary travel and accommodations. Selected second and third-place competition finalists can also earn a scholarship to the 2025 ������Ƶ PreCollege Summer Program. Entries will be judged in December 2025, with winners announced in January 2026.

“Entertainment Design impacts everything from theme parks, museums, and concerts to hotels, retail stores, and sporting events,” said Jamie DeRuyter, Entertainment Design Department Head at ������Ƶ.

“Through this competition, we hope to inspire today’s high school students to see themselves as tomorrow’s immersive experience designers and raise their awareness of this exciting, versatile, and fast-growing career field.”

“We are proud to collaborate with ������Ƶ in creating this first-of-its-kind entertainment design competition,” said Eliza Lee of Universal Creative. “This competition is intended to get high school juniors and seniors thinking practically about how to solve creative problems, design memorable experiences, and bring their unique ideas to life.”For more information about the Theme Park Design Competition presented by ������Ƶ, visit .

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This year, the Fall 2024 Open House will take place on Saturday, October 5. The fun and information-filled event is completely free to attend, and registration is open. 

In the spring, the College saw prospective students and their families travel from across the state of Florida and even the United States to attend the Spring Open House. Almost 300 students registered for the event and 550 guests were present. 

The fall event will begin at 9 am with a complimentary breakfast and welcome remarks in Cunniffe Commons, the College’s expansive eatery. Following the welcome, the Majors and Resources Fair offers students an overview of the College’s 13 unique degree programs, as well as information on admissions, student life, financial aid, access services, and so much more. 

Open House is a great opportunity to get a sneak peek into some of the other spaces across campus that may not always be accessible on the daily tours, such as the ������Ƶ Studio Labs, post-production and soundstage spaces; the Esports Arena, home to Ringling’s Varsity Team Ringling Rollers; an in-depth look at the First Year Studio Program and the work students create; residence hall tours, and more. 

Students can round out their day with an extensive portfolio presentation, where admissions counselors discuss tips and best practices for submitting the portfolio requirement. Parents can attend a session on financial aid. Lunch is also provided at the end of the day, back in Cunniffe Commons. 

For a complete schedule of the day’s events and to register, please visit . We hope to see you on Oct. 5! 

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Check-in will begin at 9 am and will be followed by a schedule of speakers, including presentations from Ringling Admissions, Career Services, and Financial Aid departments.

One-on-one portfolio reviews are scheduled to take place from 1-5 pm. Campus tours will also be available from 11 am-1 pm.

Schools attending National Portfolio Day at ������Ƶ on September 15:

Cleveland Institute of Art
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
California College of the Arts 
School of Visual Arts
College for Creative Studies
California Institute of the Arts
Maine College of Art and Design
Montserrat College of Art
Kansas City Art Institute
College of Art and Design of Ferris State University
The Cooper Union
Maryland Institute College of Art
Pacific Northwest College of Art at Willamette University

More than 50 events take place throughout the country every year, introducing students, parents, and educators to the art college community and the programs they offer. ������Ƶ previously hosted a National Portfolio Day on January 21, 2024.

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SAM TAC is led by Dr. Brooks Tracey, artist and educator, and the Museum’s Community Catalyst for Learning and Engagement Connie Cuadrado. All of the students on the Council were local; Bean attending Booker High School; Orduno, Florida Virtual School and Suncoast Technical College; Hurt, Manatee School for the Arts, and Maecker, Booker High School. 

“We’re delighted that these students have decided to continue studying the arts, and to do so while staying right here in Sarasota,” said Virginia Shearer, executive director of the Sarasota Art Museum. “It’s a privilege to be a part of their cultural education, but of course they make valuable contributions to our organization and our community, too. Really, the Teen Arts Council is about forging long-term relationships with the next generation of arts leaders.”

Begun in 2022, the is a year-long paid internship program for creative high school students focusing on contemporary art, museum management, arts program development, and community engagement. TAC members receive behind-the-scenes immersion in Sarasota Art Museum operations and assist in planning public programming, among other opportunities.

The Kutya Major Foundation provides funds for TAC and supports its students with great potential who are interested in furthering their artistic education by offering scholarships to Ringling’s PreCollege program. The TAC is the brainchild of Flora Major, president of the Kutya Major Foundation and one of the founders who spearheaded the $22.5 million fundraising effort supporting the creation of the Sarasota Art Museum, a division of ������Ƶ.

Both Maecker and Hurt will receive financial support from the foundation in order to attend Ringling’s four-week summer PreCollege program, which includes classes and workshops as well as Student and Resident Life activities. First-time students who successfully complete the program receive three college credits.

Learn more about .

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