Undergraduate Ambassadors
Roski School Ambassadors are currently enrolled undergraduates who are well versed in what the Gayle Garner Roski School has to offer. They are excited to speak with prospective, transfer, international, and current undergraduate students. They will also serve as panelists, tour guides, and help at various Roski School events.
Ambassadors are available to meet with you (virtually or socially distanced) to discuss their experiences at the Roski School, show you around our campus, and answer any questions you have about your program of interest or point you to the right person to speak with.
Contact our Ambassadors today to get a student’s perspective on our school.
If you are interested in being a Roski School Ambassador please fill out the application.
Meet your Roski School Ambassadors:
Xyla Abella
Xyla is a sophomore pursing a BFA Fine Arts degree. She engages in the fine art sector primarily as a photographer, researcher, curator, and analyst. Xyla is the director of photography at USC's Haute Magazine and an active member in the Sidney Harman Academy for Polymathic Studies. Conflated with in-depth research and varying visual approaches, Xyla's work aims to critically investigate the human condition.
Email: xabella@usc.edu
Website: xylaabella.com
Instagram: @xylaabella
Ethan Castillo
Ethan is a BFA Design major. He is an artist, gamer, and nerd from San Jose, California. Ethan has been in love with comic books since he can remember, and much of his art is borne of the same passion. His practice is ever-evolving but based mainly in storytelling. Ethan works in film, photography, screenwriting, and concept art (specifically character design) to create with and for others. He has exhibited his work at massive pop culture celebrations like Comic-Con International: San Diego, WonderCon, and LightBox Expo. Ethan is developing his own art and wellness brand and hopes to share it soon. He encourages students to reach out if they need anything and looks forward to getting to know everyone!
Email: eccastil@usc.edu
Instagram: @ethancastillo05
John (JD) Davillier Jr.
John "JD" Davillier is a sophomore in the BFA Art program. Originally from New Orleans, LA, he creates a variety of both digital and traditional work, including paintings of dreamy atmospheric spaces, drawings on articles of clothing, character designs, and animations. He enjoys using his art to tell stories, explore new perspectives, and discuss social issues. He is also currently in the process of creating a comic. In the future, he plans to experiment with more collaborative work with other artists.
Email: davillie@usc.edu
Website: johndavillier.art
Instagram: @jd.ville.art
Wilha Duncan
Wilha is a freshman pursuing a BA in art. She grew up in Brooklyn, NY and is interested in fashion, painting, drawing, and multimedia art making. Through her work she wants to explore themes of technology and social change. Wilha hopes to fuse her love for making that with her other academic interests and positively affect people with her work. She also love rock climbing, knitting, road trips, and my cats.
Email: wilhadun@usc.edu
Sofia Duran
Sofia is a sophomore student completing her BFA in Design. She is originally from Colombia, but transferred to the USC Roski School of Art and Design in Fall 2022. Sofia is passionate about marketing, graphic design, sustainability, and social work, and is currently exploring digital media as a means of addressing social issues in her art and design pieces. In her free time, she finds inspiration in nature through hiking and outdoor activities.
Email: duransar@usc.edu
Instagram: sofiaduran01
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sofía-durán-sarria-a34149223
Laila Hassell
Laila is an undergraduate student majoring in Design with a minor in East Asian Languages and Cultures. She is a dancer, musician, and designer based in Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi, UAE. As an artist and designer, her work blends mundane imagery with vividly whimsical compositions, creating a visual that highlights various aspects of reality within an imaginative space. Laila’s main goal in her practice is to evoke the experiencer's imagination, ultimately reminding them that reality is what they choose to make it. Her main areas of focus are Graphic Design, Fashion Design, and Art Direction.
Email: lhassell@usc.edu
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/laila-hassell-3a25bb206/
Ashley Kang
Ashley is a junior pursuing a major in BFA Design and a minor in Business. Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, and currently reisding in Los Angeles, she was exposed to a multicultural environment and this shaped her to become a more interdisciplinary designer that she is now. Studying in such diverse fileds oftern giver her unique insights. To apply such multifaceted thinking and genrating into a creative desiger helps kepp her challednged and grow as an artist. Her passion for design varies from 2D graphics to 3D motion graphics, however, her biggesst interest is generating illustration into 3D motion art. She hopes to lauch her own brand and become a successful designer/entrepreneur in the future. Ashley is open to making new connections and give any advice if you need! Feel free to contact her to build connections, ask questions, or for a design collab project!
Email: hkang186@gmail.com
Instagram: @cherish_ashley
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ashley-kang-0711b5218
Seanna Latiff
Seanna is a senior majoring in Art as well as Cinema and Media Studies. Much of her work is created from reflecting on her experiences as a multiracial immigrant with intersectional identities. With a background in traditional fine art, USC enabled Seanna to embrace the multidisciplinary aspect of her practice. Joining clubs with other artists such as Corpus Callossum, Queer Students in Cinematic Arts, and USC BSA’s Creative Experience, motivated her to try new mediums outside of her comfort zone, therefore expanding her ideas on what is possible to achieve as an artist with the resources provided by USC. She is now the Director of Design for Creative Experience and Corpus Callossum and encourages new students to engage with other artists to collaborate and to be inspired. Seanna enjoys watching and creating animations, as well as taking advantage of the live music that LA has to offer. She is also representing the Roski School on an Arts in Action's grant review panel this year as the first student on the committee.
Email: latiff@usc.edu
Instagram: @seannalatiff
Nishka Manghnani
Nishka is a freshman pursuing a BFA in Design. With aspirations to be a visual identity designer, she has a strong understanding of user centered design which she applies to her branding projects. Nishka’s creative process combines analog and digital media to produce work that is refined without losing its handmade touch. With a knack for public art, she strives to create visual work that can catalyse social change. Having been born and brought up in Mumbai, India, her cultural background seeps its way into her work in contemporary ways. At Roski, she continues to be experimental to grow as an artist and individual.
Email: nmanghna@usc.edu
Instagram: @nishkamanghnanii
Grace Martin
Grace is a sophomore from Carlsbad, California majoring in Design and minoring in Product Design at the Iovine and Young Academy. Her path is unique, transferring after completing a year at Santa Monica Community College. Currently, she is an active member of the USC community as head of the design team for the Surfrider Club and serving on the design staff at the Daily Trojan. Passionate about sustainability and environmentalism, Grace hopes to use her designs to promote change. She is inspired to share her perspective with audiences in unexpected ways and is excited to offer her insights and experiences with new students on studying with the amazing faculty at Roski.
Email: graceema@usc.edu
Instagram: @graciextras
Website: graceema.myportfolio.com
Imran Tallman
Imran is a senior BFA Design major and will graduate with a minor in Product Design at IYA and a specialization in Viterbi’s Computer Programming. Born and raised in San Diego, he has been blessed to have the beach and mountains right at his fingertips. Inspired by the local surroundings as well as his travels, he became obsessed with photography throughout high school. Years later, he knew he wanted to pursue a creative degree but wanted to move past photography. This decision ultimately led him to Roski’s awesome design program. Imran plans to use his experience and education at USC in a UX/UI, product or interactive design career at companies such as Apple Inc, Tesla, and Disney Imagineering. Reach out to him up if you’re looking for some advice, a break from school, or a design collab!
Email: itallman@usc.edu
Instagram: @focus.and.shoot
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/imran-tallman-43280619b
Portfolio: itallman.myportfolio.com