![](https://freestyleacademy.rocks/~RyeD/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Donaldson_Rye-About-Me-Plaque-Card-Colored.png)
Hello! My name is Rye Donaldson (all pronouns), and I was an Animation student at Freestyle Academy for both Junior and Senior years.
I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember, and more than that I’ve always loved telling stories through my art! I was always a little intimidated by animation, but Freestyle really pushed me past that, and now it’s one of my favorite mediums. Aside from drawing and animation, I love crocheting and photography, and also started developing my own video games!
I’ve learned such an incredible variety of things here at Freestyle, including how to teach myself whatever else I want to learn. Here I’ve been able to create so much meaningful work that really let me explore and dive deep into my passions, and tell the stories that I wanted to tell. I met so many wonderful people here too, and through this shared experience I became so much closer with my best friends, (who are stuck with me forever now <3).
I did a lot of re-working my priority list during my time here, and being able to let go of some of the academic pressure and perfectionism, focus on spending quality time with my friends, and enjoying the process of creating has been so fulfilling and freeing.
Freestyle and the people I’ve met here helped me feel confident sharing my own voice and perspective. Now, graduating, I know I have a foundation that will help me tell so many more beautiful stories in the future, and that’s something I’ll continue to build on and cherish forever.