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As a high school student, Natalia Mercado was thrilled when her art teacher told her about Ohio State's summer camp for young women interested in computer animation.

Mercado thought the two-week program would give her "a backstage view" of the university's Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design (ACCAD), one of the top places in the world to learn about computer animation and the host of the yearly Technology Mentoring Program for Young Women.

The camp ended up helping her choose a college major and career path.

In May, Mercado graduated from Columbus' Fort Hayes Metropolitan Career Center, where she participated in its commercial art program; she is now a freshman at Savannah College of Art in Design.

"The camp I took at ACCAD really boosted my passion, and helped me make my final decision on what exactly I wanted to do with my life," she says. "It was an amazing experience, not only to learn how to animate but also to get a feel of the massive amount of work put into movies made by the big names such as DreamWorks and Pixar."

Maria Palazzi, ACCAD's director, started the mentoring program six years ago, in an effort to get young women interested in the idea of "media as power."

Each year, she selects 20 eighth and ninth graders from a pool of about 60 applicants. The process is rigorous: Studenta are recommended by a teacher and must solve a visual problem and write an essay about an inspirational woman artist.

The students come to ACCAD with little or no knowledge of computer animation. But by the time they leave, they've produced a group animation, worked with women grad students in animation, and--a highlight of the camp--participated in a live video conference with DreamWorks Animation, which has created films that include Shrek and Madagascar and employs several ACCAD alumni.

Mercado's group has returned to ACCAD for the past three summers. This year, each student animated a portion of an animation called "The Worm Hole." (Mercado's part features the Sphinx.)

For Palazzi, it's gratifying to see young women working together and talking about technology. A parent once reported that her daughter came home from camp and told her, "I've finally found a group of girls who are interested in the same thing I am."

Mercado, who interned at ACCAD this summer, hopes to come back to the center for grad school.

"My interning experience gave me a lot of time around the graduate students, so I got to learn more about not only animation, but the great education that Ohio State provides," she says.

(text: University Marketing Communications / video: ACCAD)

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