by Katelyn Betts, contributor
Chhanda Bhowmik, MFA motion media student at SCAD Atlanta, has overcome great hardship in her journey at SCAD. From being an international student finding her way in a new country to financial stress of supporting a family in India, Bhowmik has overcome the odds to make a real impact in the motion media department of SCAD. Through the hard times Bhowmik has stayed strong and determined, persevering through all of the challenges life threw her way.
Bhowmik first became interested in sketching and drawing as a child. “My favorite pastime as a child was to look at the sky and enjoy the frequently changing color play, especially at dawn and dusk, as I stared with awe and excitement at such an amazing kaleidoscopic wonder”, she explains. This later evolved into a passion for digital media. In 2007 Bhowmik moved to the U.S. to attend the New York Film Academy (NYFA), but in the process she was obliged to sell her property and inheritance in India to pay for her education. She also had to accrue high-interest loans, so finances were tight. During her time at NYFA Bhowmik learned of SCAD’s reputation as a top-tier art school and set her sights on attending SCAD, despite the fact that her peers at NYFA attempted to dissuade her. They cited SCAD’s rigorous application expectations as a reason not to go, but to Bhowmik it was “a dream come true” when she received her acceptance letter.
Bhowmik took on a full course-load at SCAD and began working full-time and on weekends. Support and encouragement from her professors, specifically Professor Burge and Professor Alessandro, helped her pull through. Despite a strenuous schedule and very little sleep, Bhowmik pushed harder, seeing SCAD’s high expectations as an opportunity to achieve an ideal outcome. Through her hard work Bhowmik was awarded a scholarship when she entered the MFA program for motion media, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. “During this period, my elder brother in India fell very ill and I had to start supporting my family there and my pressure escalated,” Bhowmik explains.
Another setback occurred as Bhowmik took her first review upon her completion of the MFA work for motion media. She did not pass the review, as the examiner did not understand her situation as an international student with trouble expressing herself in English. The failure was devastating. With her funds nearly gone, Bhowmik had no choice but to move to New York at her employer’s decree, an expensive and stressful option. “I had almost given up,” Bhowmik says. But she continued to work with Professors Burge and Alessandro, who encouraged her and helped her refine her thesis project and proposal. Bhowmik took the review again in May 2013 and passed easily. Professor Burge says that “many students may have be derailed from their MFA track by experiencing failure in the first review, but Chhanda was able to regroup and push through these stumbling blocks to produce and exceptional written thesis and visual project.” To this day she greatly appreciates the work and help that these professors gave her and the determination they inspired within her.
Bhowmik has this advice to offer SCAD students who are struggling to overcome their own challenges: “Faith and persistence in spite of all odds have been my reason of survival and success through this journey. I did not lose my focus and always tried to receive the best out of my teachers and the curriculum at SCAD. I never gave up and worked harder to achieve the best I could.”
Bhowmik’s story is one of challenges and perseverance, but the outcome made all of the hard work worth it.
Chhanda Bhowmik’s most recent project was the movie title sequence of a film called “Eviction.”
