Seven University of Arizona students will receive the 2026 Creative Achievement Award in recognition of their artistic excellence, innovation, dedication and contributions to the College of Fine Arts community.
Presented annually by the College of Fine Arts, the awards honor undergraduate and graduate students whose creative work demonstrates exceptional achievement in the arts and extends beyond the classroom through research, collaboration, mentorship and community engagement.
2026 Creative Achievement Award winners
- Aaron Savory / Porter McDonald / School of Art
- Sam Renfrow / Natalie Rose Reyes / School of Dance
- Thomas Ewell / Clarissa Tracy / School of Music
- Caroline Rosen / School of Theatre, Film & Television
School of Art
Aaron Savory
Undergraduate | Illustration, Design & Animation
Aaron Savory is a senior in the School of Art’s Illustration, Design & Animation program. He is also a first-generation student, who transferred to the U of A from Pima Community College. Savory first developed an interest in design through high school yearbook production and screen-printed T-shirts.
Faculty from Pima Community College and the University of Arizona nominated Savory for his creativity, curiosity, professionalism, and commitment to continual growth. His work spans graphic design, illustration, calligraphy, photography, screen printing, embroidery and digital media. He also conducted independent research on nontraditional bookbinding and has presented work in exhibitions at the Pima West Campus Visual Arts Gallery, the University of Arizona Museum of Art and the University of Arizona’s Gross Gallery.
Savory has applied his skills through freelance work, including three-dimensional wallpaper designs and calligraphy commissions. He also has experience as a graphic design teaching assistant at Nogales High School, where he shared his knowledge of design and printing processes.
Despite a long commute between Nogales and Tucson and responsibilities supporting his family, Savory has maintained excellent attendance and consistently produced high-quality work. He also volunteers with schools and organizations in both communities.
“Rather than roadblocks,” Savory said in his bio, “I use them as a driving force.”
His career goals include creating logos, visual identities, advertisements and video game icons. He is particularly interested in exploring “the relationship between typography, imagery and textures.”
“[Savory] approaches assignments as opportunities for investigation,” his nominators wrote. “He embraces unfamiliar possibilities rather than treating to what is comfortable.”
Porter McDonald
Graduate | illustration, Animation & Design
Porter McDonald is an MFA student in illustration, animation and design whose interdisciplinary practice brings together comics, animation, illustration, book design, murals, sculpture, performance, photography, and video.
Inspired by the cartoons and comics of his childhood, McDonald’s work examines American identity, relationships to the land, consumerism, and the rapid expansion of modern technology. His work has been exhibited internationally in South Korea and Mexico, as well as at venues throughout Tucson, including Steinfeld Gallery, Pidgin Palace Arts, Lionel Rombach Gallery, and the Mexican Consulate.
McDonald is the author and performer of “On Dogs on TV,” a project that combines text, images, book design, and live performance. He also published “Canland Archive,” a weekly comic strip in the Daily Wildcat that forms the basis of his MFA thesis.
His creative practice frequently incorporates scientific and ecological research. Through a collaboration with Biosphere 2, McDonald created an animated essay about the Sonoyta pupfish. The project was selected for publication on the Biosphere 2 website.
In addition to his studio work, McDonald has more than a decade of experience teaching visual arts and media to students in grades five through 12. He has also been recognized as a Medici Scholar, a silver medalist in the PubWest Book Design Awards and a recipient of an Arizona Commission on the Arts Artist Opportunity Grant.
Faculty praised McDonald’s teaching, mentorship, curiosity, and ability to work across disciplines.
“Porter is determined, forward-thinking, and deeply curious about his own research and others. I am positive that he will make a significant impact wherever his career takes him,” his nominators wrote. “His ability to work across disciplines will carry him far.”
School of Dance
Sam Renfrow
Undergraduate | Dance
Sam Renfrow is an undergraduate dance student whose work as a performer and emerging choreographer reflects versatility, discipline, and a commitment to artistic growth.
Renfrow is trained in ballet, modern, jazz, musical theatre, and tap. He has performed in works by guest choreographers including Linda Kent, Kayla Farrish, Sarah Lisette Chiesa, and Gianni Howell, as well as in Alvin Ailey’s “Streams,” Tyce Diorio’s “HYPSONIK” and Bob Fosse’s “Sing, Sing, Sing.”
His professional training includes Springboard Danse, the Alonzo King LINES Ballet Summer program, Post:Ballet Workshop, and the Nova Linea Professional Intensive, where he received a full scholarship. He is also the recipient of the Monte Ralston Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre and Dance.
As a choreographer, Renfrow creates work that explores family, time, love, personal growth, and human connection. His choreography includes “Journeymen” and “When Love Intervenes”, for which he composed music in collaboration with a modern dance accompanist.
“Sam does not simply perform movement,” his nominator wrote.” “He embodies it.” Faculty also noted Renfrow’s authenticity, work ethic, curiosity, and openness to challenge.
“He is eager to learn, willing to be challenged, and remarkably open to allowing new information to change him,” they wrote. “His work can come from a place that is uniquely his while still allowing an audience to recognize pieces of their own lives within it.”
Natalie Rose Reyes
Graduate | Dance
Natalie Rose Reyes is an MFA candidate in choreography and performance and a graduate teaching assistant in the School of Dance. Her artistic practice connects classical ballet training with teaching, performance, choreography, mentorship, and cultural research.
As a graduate teaching assistant, Reyes teaches ballet, improvisation, and jazz. She also contributes to the School of Dance’s Traveling Dance Ensemble and supports dance education beyond the studio.
Reyes is the creator of “Waltzes in Bloom,” a classical ballet project developed as her MFA progress work. She presented the project at the Stevie Eller Celebration of Young Artists and later toured the choreography with the Traveling Dance Ensemble.
Her extensive training includes the San Francisco Ballet School, Boston Ballet, Sultanov Russian Ballet Academy, Portland Ballet Summer Program, Master Ballet Academy, and Ballet San Jose.
Reyes earned a BFA in Dance from the University of Oregon, along with a minor in legal studies and a Teaching in Dance Certificate. In Summer 2026, she participated in the Dance in the Heart of Italia international program, studying dance, culture, and performance in Italy.
She is also a 2026 Medici Scholar and recipient of multiple university grants and scholarships. Her research on ballet and Africanist aesthetics has been accepted for presentation at the 2026 National Dance Education Organization conference.
“As a student, artist, choreographer, teacher, and colleague,” her nominators wrote. “I have been continually impressed by the seriousness, generosity, intellectual courtesy, and artistic commitment she brings to each of these roles.”
School of Music
Thomas Ewell
Undergraduate | Music Composition and Bass Clarinet Performance
Thomas Ewell is a Bachelor of Music student studying composition and clarinet performance. A graduate of Yavapai College, Ewell maintains a 4.0 GPA and explores the connections among music, storytelling, and social impact.
His musical interests extend across classical music, folk, indie rock, big band, and hip-hop. Through his work, Ewell seeks to expand the boundaries between classical and non-classical music while considering the environmental and cultural systems that make artistic practices possible.
His honors thesis, “Mpingo: Songs for Conservation,” examines the historical and material connections between the clarinet and the mpingo tree. The project connects instrument making, environmental conservation, music education, and cultural exchange.
As part of his research, Ewell conducted fieldwork in Tanzania focused on sustainability education and taught lessons to students aged 8 through 22. He received six competitive awards totaling $9,704.46 to support the project.
The research will be used to create a new composition of clarinets and a percussion quartet.
Ewell’s professor described him as an exceptional performer, composer, scholar, and educator with a distinctive artistic voice.
“He is among the top 5% of students,” the professor wrote. “That I have worked with in regards to his level of performance ability, dedication, creativity, and execution of his performance and research projects.”
Clarissa Tracy
Graduate | Flute Performance
Clarissa Tracy is a doctoral candidate in flute performance with a minor in jazz studies. She holds a master’s degree in flute performance and an Interdisciplinary Arts and Performance Film certificate from Arizona State University.
Her interdisciplinary practice combines flute, film, electronic composition, beatboxing, and digital media. She presented her research on artificial intelligence and hybridized performance technology at the 2026 Flute4Health conference.
Tracy’s arrangement of Karg-Elert’s Sixth Etude for flute and beatboxing, titled “DAUNTLESS,” demonstrates her work across composition, performance, and videography. She has performed internationally at Carnegie Hall and the Queensland Conservatory in Australia, as well as with the Spokane Symphony at the Fox Theater. She performs in both classical and jazz settings and has collaborated with orchestras and musicians from the Tucson Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to her artistic work, Tracy serves as the School of Music’s Coordinator of Music Operations. She has taught private students since 2016, supports school music programs through sectionals and mentorships, and serves as an adjudicator for ABODA regional honor band auditions.
“As a performer, collaborator, educator, arts administrator, and creative scholar,” her nominator wrote. “She has distinguished herself through a remarkable synthesis of artistic excellence, technological innovation, and professional leadership.”
School of Theatre, Film & Television
Caroline Rosen
Undergraduate | Film and Television
Caroline Rosen is a senior in the film and television program with a 4.0 GPA. Her work combines innovative visual techniques with impactful storytelling, often exploring womanhood, religion, Filipino identity, and family heritage.
In “Smile, Please,” created with Madeline Heinrich, Rosen uses the aesthetic of a black-and-white 1950s sitcom to explore the pressures and personal choices faced by the actress behind the performance. The film addresses women’s roles, pregnancy, and difficult decisions through a genre-bending visual style.
Her documentary “Kain Tayo (Let’s Eat)” explores Filipino family heritage through the story of a woman opening a Filipino grocery store in Tucson. Rosen’s films have screened at the Nogales International Film Festival, Tucson Film Festival, and Flagstaff International Film Festival.
Rosen is also a highly active collaborator within the Film and Television program. She has contributed to five of the 13 BFA senior thesis films showcased at “I Dream in Widescreen” event. Her production roles have included director of photography, art director, production designer, behind-the-scenes photographer, and first assistant camera.
For “Playing it Ghoul,” Rosen served as director of photography, preplanned the film’s visual story, and helped determine its lighting, set design, costumes, and overall visual style.
Rosen plans to serve as director of photography for two additional senior thesis films. Her technical skills include cinematography, gaffing, lens selection, focus pulling, video editing and photo editing.
“Caroline’s creative work pushes the boundaries,” her nominators wrote. “Both with technical achievements and impactful storytelling.”
Rosen’s faculty also emphasized her presence throughout the program’s production community.
“You will be hard pressed to find a film set within TFTV that doesn’t have Caroline present,” they wrote. “Caroline’s talent, passion, discipline, and vision are immediately apparent.”