Born and raised in Vietnam, alumna Linh Tran (MFA Film & Television Directing ‘20) is a documentary and fiction filmmaker. Linh’s works are deeply personal, exploring memories of childhood and early adulthood. Her films have been selected for several film fests, including the Dublin International Film Festival and the Bushwick Film Festival. Linh’s most recent film, Waiting for the Light to Change, which she directed and co-wrote while studying at DePaul, premiered at the Oscar-qualifying Heartland International Film Festival and took home the Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize from Slamdance 2023.

Talal Ghafoor is a senior computer science major, CDM student ambassador, and president of DePaul UMMA (United Muslims Moving Ahead). During his time at CDM, Talal has been involved in soft robotics research, including implementing SLAM algorithms with soft robots, allowing the robot to navigate an area while simultaneously mapping and locating itself within that space. Last summer, Talal was a software engineering intern at Amazon, and he has accepted a full time software engineer position at Amazon upon graduation.

Miguel Perez (BFA Graphic Design ‘19) has always been interested in art. In high school, he took every art course offered, which fueled his interest even more, leading him to pursue a degree in graphic design. Upon graduating from DePaul, Miguel worked at a direct-to-consumer clothing brand where he helped elevate the brand and design their new website. Currently, he works at the design agency Legion Collective where he rebrands companies and designs websites. “The skills I gained at DePaul have definitely translated to the professional world. I am incredibly grateful for the mentorship I received.”