CNM Digital Media Students Win Prestigious Awards

CNM Ingenuity’s Digital Media Deep Dive Bootcamp teaches skills including video production, game design, augmented reality, and more. The caliber of the student work is impressively high, and three students in the program recently took home prestigious awards and nominations for their work.

Charles Cantu and Judah Medina Armstrong both won silver in the student category as part of the 2021 American Advertising Awards New Mexico, or ADDY’s. The awards are judged by industry advertisers and both students have received lots of statewide recognition.  

“It’s great to have student work seen and validated by professional advertisers,” says Rod Sanchez, who leads the Digital Media Deep Dive Bootcamps.

Judah Medina Armstrong won for a commercial he put together for Twisters. Charles Cantu won for a video commercial he created for Tractor Brewing Company. 

“The award means a lot,” Charles says. “It reminded me that there is a lot of value in what I love to do and what I'm good at. It made me understand that there are a lot of people who can appreciate and enjoy the work that I do.”

The ad Charles put together is a series of short videos that showcase the brewery’s signature brews. Charles used various motion graphics including moving type to punch up the effect.  

“Working for Tractor showed me that I can approach any project with confidence,” he says. “I have a large amount of experience to draw from and a lot of familiarity with digital tools.”

In addition to ads, Rod and his students also helped Tractor create a virtual menu, which helped the company during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Most recently, Digital Media student Sara Henson was nominated for the City Creative Visionaries Contest. Sara Henson is the editor, graphic designer, and co-producer of the “Back Patio” podcast. Annmarie Henton who hosts the “Back Patio” podcast,  describes it as “sitting on a back patio with your best friend talking about happiness, heartbreak, accomplishments, failures, and everything in between.” In the most recent episode of the “Back Patio” podcast they interviewed Kristelle Siarza, owner of Siarza Social Digital. 

Rod says he’s proud of the students and their work, but also excited about the exposure the awards create. 

“The awards put these students in front of local and national employers,” he says. 

So far, the Digital Media bootcamp has helped several students land good jobs at places including Netflix.

Charles says he’s excited to add the award to his portfolio and use it to help him land the right job.

“I’ve been working hard to eventually get a visual design and motion graphics job, and I hope the award opens up a couple opportunities,” he says. “I want others to see my passion for this work.”

Learn more about the Digital Media bootcamp here.