profile / alumni / students / interaction-design / diversity / student-leadership-awards
August 24, 2023
By Solvej Schou
Work images courtesy of Lucas Thin

Student Leadership Award winner Lucas Thin fostered inclusivity and collaboration among students

“A leader creates a safe environment, prioritizes their people, and, in turn, earns their loyalty.”                                                                                                                                            —Lucas Thin  

Summer 2023 Student Leadership Award winner Nan Phyu Phyu “Lucas” Thin (BS 23 Interaction Design) was recognized by her ArtCenter peers as a smart, dedicated and kind leader who fostered inclusivity and collaboration among other students.  

“I’m a creative technologist born in Burma and schooled in Singapore,” said Thin, accepting the award at Summer 2023 Graduation. “Growing up, I always felt like the outsider, discriminated against because of my nationality, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, and even my mom's disability.”

Being welcomed into the ArtCenter campus community deepened Thin’s passion to create meaningful change in the world.

As an Orientation Leader, a Teaching Assistant, a research assistant, president and co-founder of the Prototyping Club, a recipient of multiple scholarships, and the first resident of the Immersion Lab, Thin demonstrated a value for leadership as a form of kinship with others.  

As an Interaction Design student with a Designmatters minor in Social Innovation, she received national and international awards.