West Virginia University College of Creative Arts and its schools have selected outstanding seniors from the May 2021 graduating class.

Each school selects their top senior based on merit. The top outstanding senior for the college is then voted on by administrators.

“What is astonishing about these three is that all have worked at such a high level on and off-campus, despite the challenges of the pandemic. During their time they participated in activities at the national level, while still being important members of our WVU and local communities.”

School of Art & Design

Breellen Fleming is a WVU Foundation Scholars, the recipient of the Neil S. Bucklew Scholarship, the PROMISE scholarship and a College of Creative Arts scholarship through the School of Art and Design.

A BFA candidate with a concentration in Electronic Media, Fleming also completed two minors in Art History and Religious Studies. She will graduate with a 3.974 GPA.

During her college career, Fleming has screened her video-based work in the West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film Festival, and in 2019 served as a juror. As part of her work towards her Art History minor, she completed research in conjunction with the WVU Art Museum, which confirmed the authorship and provenance of a 19th century Japanese ink wash painting through fiber analysis.

Fleming is also a poet and a writer. She has published work in the WVU Undergraduate Journal Calliope – both prose and artwork. In 2021 she published her first book, The Matchstick Umbrella, which she wrote and illustrated entirely. 

Fleming will attend Asbury Theological Seminary in the fall to pursue graduate studies.

School of Theatre & Dance 

Adam Payne double majored in acting and journalism at WVU. He holds a 3.87 GPA.

Payne performed in several main stage shows in the School of Theatre and Dance, most recent in King Lear filmed by West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which served as his senior capstone. 

Payne is the president of Theatre Student Organization, and is also active in the Film Club and Mirage Magazine, which prints about beauty, fashion and lifestyle.

Payne will continue his career at WVU in the fall, he has been accepted into the digital marketing communications master’s program.

School of Music

Julia Pinn will graduate with a Bachelor's of Music in Voice Performance with Summa Cum Laude honors. 

During her time at WVU, Pinn has performed in WVU Opera Theater’s production of Massenet’s Cendrillon and WVU Mainstage's production of Mozart’s Magic Flute. Pinn has been a member of the auditioned Chamber Singers choir for four years as well as a Community Choir member for two. She performed with the WVU Community Choir as the Soprano soloist in the Mozart Requiem.

Pinn participated in voice competitions including National Association of Teachers of Singing, where she has advanced to the national round all four years, and the Classical Singer competition which she advanced to the national second round of the university division in 2020. 

Pinn volunteered with the WVU community program, Dream Catchers and has worked as a student ambassador for the College of Creative Arts from 2019-2021. 

Upon graduating, Pinn plans to continue her studies to gain her master’s in music in voice performance and to continue creating music throughout the state of West Virginia and beyond. 

College of Creative Arts

Breellen Fleming was selected as the outstanding College of Creative Arts graduate.

“Breellen is a wonderful example of an artist-scholar who has already accomplished great things,” said Jackson. "Being the illustrator and creator of her book is a remarkable achievement. Coupled with her work in the museum and across campus I know she is the type of leader who will be a shining model for future generations.”