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Veera Kauppinen

Veera Kauppinen is looking forward to a career in animation and is working in Los Angeles, USA, as she graduates in Animation with Film Production from the ¹ú²úÊÓƵ.

“I am so thrilled to now have my degree and I cannot wait to see where life takes me next,” said Veera. “I will always remember my time at the ¹ú²úÊÓƵ.”

After finishing high school, Veera, who is from Finland, spent a few years travelling then started thinking about going back into education when she received an email from the ¹ú²úÊÓƵ, which sparked her interest. “I thought this would be a fantastic opportunity for me, living in the UK and studying what I am passionate about.” said Veera. “The International staff were amazing and helped me through the application process.”

During Veera’s second year, she got commissioned as a New Creative by BBC Arts and The Art Council of England to produce an animated short. It aired on BBC 4 in December 2021. “This was an amazing opportunity to work on a live animation project and make my story come alive while working with many talented people,” she said.

Veera did a year abroad, with one semester in Thessaloniki, Greece studying film and the second studying art in Duluth, Minnesota. Following this she found an animation internship opportunity in Los Angeles through her contacts in Minnesota.

Following this, Veera moved to California in January 2022 where she finished her studies remotely. “I kept meeting with my lecturers every week to make sure I was keeping up with all the work,” she said. “It was a lot of work but extremely rewarding.

“I am grateful for having such great support throughout my studies. My lecturers were great and made sure I got everything out of my studies, and it is thanks to them, I am where I am now!”

Veera worked on her own animation project while also producing work for film and TV in Los Angeles. “I learned from animation professionals and got the chance to work on an upcoming film,” she said. She is now living in Los Angeles where she says there are so many job opportunities, while also being a perfect place to network with people working in the industry. “I am going to keep networking and working on my portfolio,” she added. “I am hoping this will keep me in the animation business for a while.”