ETC Announces 2025 Fred Foster Student Mentees

ETC introduces the students who are participating in the 2025 Fred Foster Student Mentorship Program, hailing from the US, Canada, and the UK. Through the program's online networking events, students will meet a wide range of industry mentors, building connections as they kick off their careers. Fred Foster, ETC's late founder and CEO, started the program in 1999, recognizing the critical role mentorship plays in any lighting professional's career.

The North American students are:

Bharat Vyas recently earned a diploma in theatre production from Humber College in Toronto. His passion for the stage began with a local theatre group in southern India. Before transitioning to the performing arts, he worked as a cinematographer and photographer in the Indian film industry. This experience in visual storytelling led him to explore lighting and stage design. Recent credits include Lahore (Sawitri Theatre Group) and Bodies of Nature (Cawthra School). Assistant lighting designer credits include Noir (Frog in Hand Productions) and Erased (Open Heart Surgery Theatre + Theatre Passe Muraille). Visit his website at acameraperson.com.

Destiny Garner is entering her final year in undergraduate studies at Columbia College Chicago. She was recently selected as a 2025 August Wilson Fellow in Theatrical Production by the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. This fellowship supports emerging BIPOC theatre professionals by providing training and practice in technical theatre, theatre production, and design in a professional workplace. She has also built her experience in lighting design with recent dance productions at Columbia College Chicago, as well as theatrical shows such as Fabulation or The Re-education of Undine and Minutes and Seconds.

Emma McManus is an MFA candidate in lighting design at California Institute of the Arts. She earned an undergraduate degree from Brooklyn College in both theatrical design and film-screenwriting. Born and raised in Queens, New York, she has worked on numerous productions spanning theatre, dance, concerts, galleries, and other live events. She is currently a show lighting Intern for Walt Disney Imagineering in Anaheim, California. Visit her website at imemmamcmanus.myportfolio.com.

Essie Claire Winston is entering her final year of undergraduate studies at Webster University, focused on lighting design. They have worked as a lighting designer, programmer, and electrician on multiple productions. Throughout her career, Winston has worked with artistic organizations such as the Webster Department of Dance, Barrington Stage Company, Sargent Conservatory, Pack Dance Company, and Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. Additionally, Winston is working as an electrics apprentice for Santa Fe Opera in 2025. Hailey Garza is currently completing her undergraduate studies at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama. She has now worked as a lighting designer, assistant lighting designer, master electrician, assistant master electrician, programmer, and lighting technician. Upcoming lighting design projects include The Jungle Book and The Secret Garden in July 2025. When she's not busy lighting a production, she enjoys being a freelance photographer in her spare time. Visit her website at haileygarzadesign.com.

Based in Pittsburgh, Isabel Caldwell Aranza is currently obtaining her BFA in theatre production from Point Park University's Conservatory of the Performing Arts. During her time at Point Park University, she has earned accolades such as the Richard Rauh Excellence in Theater Award, for outstanding leadership in production, and the Alumni Association Scholarship for her commitment to leadership and inclusion. She particularly enjoys lighting design for dance and plays. Visit her website at www.izcalighting.com.

Jonathan Roth is from Brookfield, Wisconsin, and is studying for a BFA in theatre design/technology with emphasis in lighting design at the University of Evansville. His recent lighting design credits at UET include Romeo and Juliet as well as John Proctor is the Villain. He also served as head electrician for Into the Woods and Clyde's. Currently, he is leading as head electrician at the Lyric Repertory Company in Logan, Utah, for three mainstage shows performed in rep and one show performed in the Black Box Theatre. Last summer, he worked as a lighting technician with the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Visit his website at rothjonathan8.wixsite.com/my-site.

Soleil Ramirez is actively pursuing a BFA in production design with a lighting design concentration at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Throughout her education, she has experienced several positions within the design process, including lighting supervisor, lighting designer, associate lighting designer, production electrician, programmer, and followspot operator. Her passion for collaborative storytelling and live entertainment has led her to creatively design unique and expressive visuals. Visit her website at www.soleilramirezld.com.

Taylor Olson received her MFA in lighting design from the University of California, San Diego. Rooted in San Diego's arts scene, she brings stories to life through light and movement as the resident lighting designer for the organization DISCO RIOT. She has collaborated with innovative groups, including Fresh Congress Dance Company, Malashock Dance, La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, and Nautilus Entertainment Design, crafting immersive experiences that have lit up stages from San Diego to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Explore her work at taylorolsonlighting.com.

Trini Rogando is a student at Stanford University working towards both a BS in design and BA in theatre and performance studies. She currently works at the Designing Education Lab in the Center for Design Research, promoting accessibility for blind and low-vision students, as well as the TAPS Scene Shop, supporting electrics and scenic construction. Her recent lighting design credits include Proportionality, Wanderers, and what remains. She has also been credited as a scenic designer, assistant projection designer, sound designer, and assistant stage manager. Visit her website at trinirogando.xyz/.

The international students are:

Aravindh (Aran) Baskar is a student at University College London, entering his final year. He has over 900 hours of experience in lighting theatre and music productions, working on a variety of projects from dance and drama to live music concerts. Baskar currently works at the Bloomsbury Theatre, building his experience by handling the entire end-to-end process of designing the rig on multiple shows; hiring, rigging, and patching fixtures; designing the states and programming cues, as well as operating on show nights.

Howard Shakespeare is currently studying at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London to earn a BA in production arts -- theatre technology. He has gained experience in a variety of locations, providing lighting, video, and sound, while also attending as much training as possible to gain new skills useful in the entertainment technology industry. Some of his recent lighting design works include lighting designer and programmer for productions of High School Musical and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the latter for which he also acted as production designer.