Kiri Chhun and Lindsay Salazer selected as 2025-26 Career Development Fellows
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Monday, August 18th, 2025
Pennsylvania College of Art & Design is pleased to announce alumni Kiri Chhun and Lindsay Salazer as the 2025-2026 Career Development Fellows. They succeed 2024-2025 Fellows Maliyah Gregg and Jasir Moody-Awo, and the inaugural Fellows, Alex Eggleston and Jasmyn Stokes, both members of the Class of 2023.
The yearlong Career Development Fellowship centers around several goals: to expand portfolio work, to mentor PCA&D students, and to help lead The Agency, PCA&D’s student-led and student-focused branding and marketing operation, which tackles both in-house and community-based projects.
Chhun earned his BFA in 2025 in Photography & Video. During this upcoming Fellowship, he said, “I hope to refine my communication and mentoring abilities, strengthen my photo and video skills, and contribute meaningfully to PCA&D’s creative community. I’m especially excited to explore ways to connect with other students, artists, host workshops, and create resources for students of all backgrounds. I’m also excited to curate another exhibition.” With experience running his own business for the last five years, KChhun Photography LLC, he added, “I hope to share some of that knowledge and mentor students to be successful when they leave school.”
Salazer, who transferred to PCA&D for her senior year, said the Fellowship provides an “opportunity to spend more time in the (College) community.” A Dean’s List student and 2025 graduate with a BA in Design Thinking, Salazer was active during her brief time on campus, serving with the student-run and student-focused Agency creative services operation in the Spring semester and illustrating the Senior Exhibition catalog during that time.
“Some key goals for this year’s fellows include supporting their career development in artistic and creative practice, enhancing their professional portfolios and resumes, encouraging public engagement, and providing assistance with career-related events and exhibitions,” said Holly Mosher, PCA&D’s Director of Distance Education and Fellowship Advisor. “Additionally, we aim to help them build essential professional skills, explore career opportunities, and foster networking and collaboration within the creative industry.”
“The fellowship advertised itself as a great way to gain professional experience as an artist in the real working world, and that’s a really important next step for me,” Salazer said. “I hope to learn how to manage myself and my own creative projects without the helpful instruction and weekly oversight of professors.
“There are, of course, still people in the PCA&D community I can talk to for feedback, but critiques are never the same once you leave the classroom setting,” she said. “It’s also one of my goals to figure out my next career steps with the help of the work I do during the Fellowship.”
That, said Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Justin Phillips, meshes well with the College’s goals for the Fellows. Phillips also serves as a Fellowship Advisor.
“We live in an era where it is paramount for our students to learn and understand how the world of entrepreneurship and small business operates. It is an important layer in their overall art and design education. It gives them the ability to plan and execute, anticipate and navigate challenges, and sustain themselves and thrive professionally in a complex world that is always changing.”
And that emphasis fit well with Chhun’s own goals. He said that what drew him to the Fellowship “was the chance to serve as a bridge between creative ambition and community engagement.
“I’ve been building my own photography and videography business,” said Chhun, who transferred to PCA&D after earning his associate’s degree. “I saw this role as a way to inspire and uplift others while deepening my leadership skills. … (mentoring) students on being a creative in business and the skills they would need to be successful.”
As an aside, Chhun said that the decision to transfer to PCA&D after earning his associate degree “was one of the best decisions I made.
“It helped me connect my technical skills to a deeper artistic vision and purpose. I also learned a lot about being an artist and seeing things differently through my lens.”
Mosher added that, “Lindsay and Kiri have already distinguished themselves as self-motivated, hardworking, and professional individuals with a clear passion for success in the creative field. They have shown a strong work ethic from the start and are eager to contribute to events and initiatives that will further the growth of this program. We are thrilled to have them as this year’s fellows.”
