CSE major animates her career path
Marinescu fell in love with film animation when she saw “Finding Nemo” at age nine.
“The most creative and inspirational minds in animation bring inanimate objects to life for others to laugh along with, aspire to be more alike, and escape from reality. After looking back and forth from my worn sketchbooks to my trusty sidekick of a laptop, I knew I could mix my love for art and science to become one of those people.”
These are words from second-year Marinescu’s award-winning essay in the Schlumberger Stilettos to Steel Toes contest, sponsored by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). The contest invited undergraduate female engineers from across the nation to submit an essay describing how they plan to blaze their own trail in a nontraditional career path.
Marinescu was surprised to receive a call saying she was selected from more than 2,000 applicants to win the grand prize: A scholarship of $2,000 and an all-expenses-paid trip to the SWE conference in Los Angeles.
“I just wrote up an essay and submitted it, not thinking anything of it,” Marinescu said.
Marinescu’s outstanding essay is no surprise given that she’s always had a passion for writing, as well as drawing and painting.
“I’ve been creating stories and screen plays since I was little, but I like drawing the most,” she said. “I do a lot of sketching, especially when I’m writing stories because then I can create my own characters to go with them.”
Her dream to work at Pixar’s animation studio is largely what made her choose Ohio State in the first place, when she picked up a brochure in the engineering advising office.
“I saw information about an Ohio State alumnus, Steve May (’90, ’92 MS, ’98 PhD CIS), the chief technology officer at Pixar,” said Marinescu. “He worked on Sully’s hair in ‘Monsters Inc.’ and on ‘Brave,’ and I think that’s incredible. Someday I’d love to do that.”
Marinescu knows her ambitions are different from many others in her major, but she is not daunted.
“A lot of people in computer science and engineering head toward jobs working for a company, writing code or programs,” she said. “To me, the non-traditional path is being a woman in CSE going toward animation on film.”
While there are no specific undergraduate courses on film animation, Marinescu has enjoyed the mix of art and technology she’s already seen in her classes, and is thinking about adding a minor in design.
She’s involved in Women in Engineering (WiE) Connect and serves as vice president of the Mobile App Club, which helps students develop the concepts, practices, designs and skills necessary for mobile programming.
It’s this breadth of experience and engagement that Marinescu knows will help her blaze her own trail.
“When I first came to college I thought I’d have to put art on hold, but I realized there is a way to do both,” Marinescu said. “That's what I love about Ohio State. You have that opportunity to mix your different passions and make it what you want to do with the rest of your life.”
Written by Karlie Frank
