A&A student combines passions for art and film

Ava Bierly, a fourth-year student in the College of Arts and Architecture, decided to follow her passions during her time at Penn State, taking what she described as a risk.

A double major in art education and film, Bierly has served as a videography intern for the college and is a member of the Mending Walls Penn State student organization. She spent the fall semester teaching Saturday art classes for an internship. This spring, she is participating in the Bellisario College of Communications’ Hollywood Program to get a leg up on her post-graduate plans to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the film industry.

“The ideal career would be something in art within film, and I find that prop design and set design really overlap those two interests,” Bierly said. “I’ve kept art education, too, because I could also see myself – once I’m ready to settle down or because of how unpredictable the film industry is – keeping that on the side.”

Bierly was originally an early childhood education major with art as a hobby. However, she decided to take “what felt like a risk” and pursue her degrees in art education and film.

“I always felt so insecure at the idea of pursuing art as my job. Once I got to college, I realized I would rather give it everything I have and be able to move forward knowing I tried my best, even if maybe it doesn’t work out, than to regret it 10 years down the line,” Bierly said.

Bierly recently worked on the costumes for the long film, “Muse,” which was one of her favorite projects.

“[The ‘Muse’ directors] are so professional and so incredible; they’re just going so over the top to make the most of it. The community that they built and the environment they created has been so incredible…,” Bierly said.

Bierly is also passionate about her work for Mending Walls, which brings people from different backgrounds together to create a community mural. Mending Walls originated in Richmond, Virginia, during the Black Lives Matter movement. Mending Walls Penn State, now an official student org, selects two designers each year to create a mural that is turned into a “paint by numbers,” which allows anyone regardless of experience to contribute.

“I just really don’t think there is any place or anywhere I’ve experienced where the people are just so kind and open to listen, and the community that we’ve been able to build is something I’ve never experienced before,” Bierly said.

Bierly said she is looking forward to “getting her feet planted” through the Hollywood Program and building her confidence to pursue a career in film.

“When I really stop to think about it, I am so grateful to be this busy,” Bierly said. “I’m really proud of myself for trying everything, no matter how scary, and putting myself out there in ways that I wouldn’t necessarily feel comfortable with.”