44 students selected for new Carson Center cohort

Forty-four Huskers — 34 first-year students and 10 transfer students — have been selected to join the latest cohort of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts.

This is the seventh and second-largest cohort for the program, which began in fall 2019. There will be 145 emerging media arts majors this fall. 

While 33 of the 44 students hail from Nebraska, this year’s cohort also includes students from California, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas.

“We have an immensely talented and diverse group of students coming into the program this year,” said Megan Elliott, Johnny Carson Endowed Director in Emerging Media Arts. “I’m excited to see the contributions they make to our program and to UNL.”

The Carson Center is part of the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film in the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. A key part of the emerging media arts curriculum is preparing students for the hugely disruptive forces of artificial intelligence and virtual production changing the workflows of industries, including film, animation and games.

“While we are learning to remain agile and learn new tools like AI, storytelling, community and the need for humans to make meaning of the world won’t change,” Elliott said. “Those are the tenets of our program.” 

Applications for the fall 2026 cohort will open soon, with details available here. 

Following is a list of students selected to the 2025-26 emerging media arts cohort by hometown with their high school listed in parentheses.

Nebraska

Beemer:

• Micah Goedeken (Lutheran High Northeast)

Bennington:

• Ryker Jones (Concordia Lutheran)

Columbus:

• Kyah Curtis (Lakeview)
• Angel Osorio (Columbus)

Geneva:

• Kathryn Godown (Fillmore Central)

Gretna:

• Ariana Aristy (Gretna)
• MaryJane Fletcher (Gretna)

Kearney:

• Nathan Bauer (Kearney)
• Cody Bridges (Kearney)
• Mads Mather (Kearney)
• Maxwell Mizner (Kearney)
• Braeden Wall (Kearney)
• Karson Wright (Kearney)

Lincoln:

• Katelyn Bennett (Lincoln High)
• Hazel Goeden (Lincoln Pius X)
• Donald Graff (Lincoln North Star)
• Madison Lemons (Lincoln Northwest)
• Andrew Morris (Lincoln Southeast)
• Isabella Provost (Lincoln East)
• Nessa Rutherford (Lincoln Southwest)
• Annabeth Schubert (Lincoln East)
• Brayden Thelander (Lincoln Northeast)
• Sophia Weed (Lincoln East)
• Brett Zimmerman (Lincoln Southwest)

Omaha:

• Aydan Jordan (Omaha Central)
• Emma Kaczmarek (Marian)
• Sophia Keele (Westside)
• Andrew Lawler (Creighton Prep)
• Claire McNeil (Millard North)
• Keiry Romero (Omaha South)

O’Neill:

• Adilyn Shald (St. Mary’s Academy)

Pierce:

• Amelia Ahlers (Pierce)

Wymore:

• Olive Sabey-Vogele (Southern)

Elsewhere in the U.S.

Pasadena, California:

• Jack Nelson (Pasadena)

Rancho Cucamonga, California:

• Danica Trinite (Alta Loma)

Bourbonnais, Illinois:

• Brayden Douglas (Bradley Bourbonnais Community)

Chicago, Illinois:

• Johanna Rickey (Lincoln Park)

Stanton, Iowa:

• Riley Burke (Stanton)

Olathe, Kansas:

• Ava Evans (Olathe Northwest)
• Katherine Mulloy (St. James Academy)

Shorewood, Minnesota:

• Evelyn Ring (Minnetonka)

Tulsa, Oklahoma:

• Keagan Sponsler (Jenks)

Rapid City, South Dakota:

• Tianna Boerke (Rapid City Central)

Odessa, Texas:

• Jacob Lechtenberg (Permian)