As a proud member of the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), Animax Designs strives to make leaps and bounds to better our industry. Exposing the next generation to the incredible opportunities that our industry can afford them is one of the many efforts we’ve made to attract new talent to both our own crew and the industry.
We have a first-hand experience in the benefits of inspiring the next generation. Not only do they bring passion to the industry, but they bring new perspectives that only make us better. It is through fostering these young future stars that we, as an entire industry, will continue fulfilling our mission of creating memorable experiences tugging on the hearts and minds of the world.
-Melissa Bledsoe, HR Manager at Animax Designs
Our very own Associate Mechanical Design Engineer, Abigail Erwin, recently had the opportunity to present at The Ohio State University as one of two keynote speakers for the 2nd annual Students in Themed Entertainment (SITE) conference. This year’s conference attracted college students from 24 universities across the country along with over 20 industry professionals in attendance.
Hosted by the Theme Park Engineering Group at Ohio State (TPEG), this student-run TEA NextGen registered organization is comprised of students that are passionate about themed entertainment. Each year, students of the chapter put together an event where students of various disciplines in the sciences and arts from across the country can network with industry professionals and showcase their own projects.
Erwin opened her presentation, titled “How I Became a Professional Nerd” by discussing her past experience working for Dublin, Ohio based interactive exhibit firm, Roto Group, along with her time interning at Disney Parks & Resorts, Walt Disney Imagineering, Universal Creative, and now Animax Designs.
During her presentation, Erwin shed light on her own academic trials that helped shape her into the engineer she is today. Growing up vacationing at Walt Disney World, she was fascinated by the performances and technology that she saw. It was this interest in performance that led her to dedicate over 10 years in community theater and further fueled her interest in entertainment and storytelling. As she grew older, Erwin found herself at a crossroads between pursuing the sciences and some form of performance entertainment. It was at this crossroads that Erwin found a way to combine the two; engineering. “I remember thinking, ‘if I’m going to be an engineer, I want to be a fun engineer,’ ” Erwin reflected.
Her passion for animated figures was sparked by her time managing the assembly, installation and performing site acceptance testing of the characters and show action equipment seen throughout Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World during her internship with Walt Disney Imagineering. Erwin now brings this passion and experience to her role at Animax Designs as she designs industry-leading animatronics for some of the biggest names in Themed Entertainment.
Rounding out her presentation, Erwin showcased Animax Designs’ portfolio and talked about the company’s industry-leading capabilities. This portion of the presentation opened the eyes of students that had never been exposed to animated figures and sparked further interest as Erwin discussed technical details while answering questions during the Q&A portion of the presentation.
Immediately after Erwin’s presentation, there was a breakout session where conference attendees participated in an activity called “Designing an Attraction”. Throughout Erwin’s presentation, Animax Designs’ unmatched quality of animatronic capabilities and attention to detail in figure finish left such an impression on the audience that when it came time for groups to present their attractions, they collectively agreed that they would have Animax Designs produce the characters for their rides.
“I’m really proud of the initiative these students are taking to network and learn. It shows that there is a bright future for the Themed Entertainment industry,”
-Abigail Erwin
For more information about OSU’s TPEG chapter, click here and to learn more about becoming a member of TEA NextGen, click here.
