By: Michelle Lopez

Photo Credit: Rahne Alexander

Meet Kristen Anchor, an Associate Teaching Professor in UMBC's Media and Communication Studies Department. Her artistic and professional background brings a unique perspective to the classroom. As a filmmaker, curator, musician, and audio-visual designer, she mentors emerging media creators, drawing from her rich artistic background. Her commitment to community-based media practices shapes both her teaching and creative work, fostering an environment of ongoing evolution and collaboration.

Before joining UMBC, Professor Anchor directed the film and video programs at Baltimore's Creative Alliance for nearly a decade. There, she curated screenings, developed workshops, and fostered connections among local filmmakers and artists. While working at Creative Alliance, she pursued her own creative endeavors, including co-founding the band The Degenerettes with her wife, Rahne Alexander. Though the band no longer tours, their music continues to resonate with new listeners online, highlighting the ongoing impact of their work.

Professor Anchor's teaching journey began during her time in UMBC's Intermedia and Digital Arts MFA program. A Graduate Assistantship led her to work in the New Media Studio, where she further developed her skills as a camera operator and video editor. This experience, coupled with her involvement in MCS 101 labs, paved the way for her transition from part-time work to a full-time lecturer role. In her teaching, she emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and creativity, designing assignments that provide structure while allowing room for experimentation. Her teaching philosophy is rooted in her experiences within Baltimore's art community, where collaboration and mutual support work hand-in-hand.

Looking ahead, Professor Anchor anticipates significant innovation in multimedia. She is interested in the evolution of virtual and augmented reality, the increasing overlap of gaming and cinematic storytelling, as well as the development of collective storytelling through social platforms. 

Professor Anchor's work at UMBC reflects her dedication to helping students navigate a constantly changing media landscape. Through hands-on production, reflective conversations, and collaborative projects, she prepares students to become thoughtful media makers. Her active involvement in Baltimore's arts communities enhances student experiences within the MCS department, bridging the gap between academic theory and local creative practice.

By: Jacey Lizer
Photo Credit: Holly Avella

Meet Dr. Holly Avella, the newest addition to UMBC's Media and Communication Studies department! She works effortlessly to bridge psychology, counseling, media theory, and all the ways technology makes us feel. With a Ph.D. in Communication, Information, and Media from Rutgers University and a background in counseling, psychology, and media studies, she brings a grounded approach to digital mental health. Her research explores mood-tracking technologies, digital therapy, AI support tools, and everything in between. 

She previously taught communication and media psychology while working as a counselor, and she realized media "was such a rich and fun way to examine our thoughts, feelings, practices, and the cultures through which we experience them." What is most fascinating is how naturally she is able to blend her counseling experience with media theory. She mentioned how popular culture and pop psychology are powerful influences; they quietly shape how people understand themselves, their feelings, and decide what "healthy" looks like.

Dr. Avella decided to pursue a Ph.D. in media studies because to her, she can get some really important questions about the world, not to mention she simply loves studying media. While she has always gravitated toward mental health, her academic focus sharpened around the relationships media technologies and emotions can have, especially as they play a huge part in mental health. 

It's interesting to see how she uses her background to open up bigger questions, and not reduce media behavior. "I liked that I could do broader kinds of analysis with media research than how media affects or works with individual psychology. Having studied psychology has always informed the way I think about media." What she's really interested in is what happens when media becomes a part of pop psychology, and how platforms start mediating information and emotion. "I started asking questions about the portrayal of psychology in media—entertainment media, social media, journalism, advertising—and how the attempts to mediate our emotions and mental health through media/technologies shapes our lives, society, and worldview." A lot of people scroll past "TherapyTok" but Dr. Avella uses media study to "contextualize TikTok trends historically, politically, economically, and culturally in some fascinating ways." Lately she has been studying the phenomenon of AI chatbots that are encouraging delusions, which is often referred to as "AI psychosis." It'll make you rethink every AI therapy you've ever seen.

"Social media has encouraged discussion of mental health in some great ways that help people feel like they are not alone." Many users discover a language they never had offline, but she sees a shift in viewing suffering through the lenses of individual diagnoses, she worries that obscures bigger social and environmental contributors. In this way, medical mental health messaging becomes consumer marketing. 

Dr. Avella hopes her students leave her courses loving media and seeing it in new and exciting ways, while also forever looking at it with a critical eye. Her first semester at UMBC, fall 2025, she is teaching Intro to Media and Social Media. In spring 2026 she will be adding Public Relations. "Once you learn about public relations, you'll start seeing it everywhere!" She said someday she'd love to teach a course in media and mental health/wellness, even though she integrates it into many of her classes. Dr. Avella hopes to be here for a long time, "it is such a great collaborative atmosphere… I love to see how supportive everyone is of each other in the classroom, and also how they challenge each other."

In order to take care of her own mental health, she prioritizes sleep. She also loves walks around campus, usually with a podcast. If you've ever spotted her power walking around, that's her recharging! Then there's her puppy, who is making "the aforementioned unwinding and care pretty difficult." She also admitted she enjoys scrolling social media and can say it's research. 

"I would love to meet more MCS students. Come by my office or stop me to chat!" Given how engaging and thoughtful she is, I can't imagine anyone regretting taking her up on that. Welcome Dr. Avella, it's a pleasure to have you as a part of our UMBC community! 

By: Mika Lopena
Photo Credit: Chung Wei Huang

No creative journey looks the same between two people, and Professor Chung Wei Huang is no exception. Growing up in a small but lively town in Taiwan, she was surrounded by an environment shaped by curiosity and learning. Her mother worked as a middle school teacher, her father was employed at a telecommunications company, and young Chung Wei spent much of her childhood reading. "I'm gonna be a writer!" she remembers thinking as a kid, long before she discovered filmmaking. What began as a love for reading would eventually spark a career built on storytelling in many forms.

During her undergraduate years at National Taiwan University, Professor Huang majored in international business while completing an art and design certificate. Although her major was practical and academically focused, she felt an early pull toward creative expression. A study abroad program in Spain transformed that interest into something deeper. She enrolled in pre production and development courses taught by American professors and realized that these classes aligned with her passions in ways her previous film studies courses never had. Her time in Spain made filmmaking feel real, and made the idea of pursuing it long term begin to take shape.

After returning to Taiwan, she gained her first industry experience as a script supervisor on the TV drama I Love You So Much. The position gave her valuable insight into the production world, but it came with heavy demands. She worked six and a half days a week under intense pressure and very low pay. Entry level jobs in Taiwan's production industry were notoriously difficult, and even though the role opened doors, it was not sustainable. Leaving the job was a turning point. It pushed her toward what she truly wanted: a chance to study filmmaking in America.

This decision brought her to Temple University's MFA program in Film and Media Arts, where she earned the Presidential Fellowship. Her time at Temple not only strengthened her skills but also expanded her creative identity, shifting her interest from documentary work toward narrative filmmaking. She later began exploring experimental forms as well, including dance for the camera, blending movement, emotion, and storytelling in new ways. After marrying and moving to the Baltimore area for her husband's long term job, she found the opportunity to teach at UMBC.

Now a lecturer in the Media and Communication Studies Department, Professor Huang teaches filmmaking, screenwriting, and media literacy. "I love being able to teach screenwriting in a very hands on way," she shared. She appreciates the supportive environment of her colleagues and the chance to work closely with students who are finding their voices as storytellers. Coming from a film school background, teaching in a communication studies program introduced her to new ideas and broadened the way she thinks about media. "I now pay attention to a wider range of disciplines," she said, reflecting on how the transition has shaped her approach as both a filmmaker and educator.

Her creative accomplishments reach far beyond the classroom. Professor Huang's films have screened at major festivals such as the Cleveland International Film Festival, LA Shorts International Film Festival, VC Film Festival, The Female Eye Film Festival, and the Maryland Film Festival. She received the Rubys Artist Grant for her film "Days without End" and funding from the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund for her short film "Squeegee Boy". She has also been a semifinalist for the Sondheim Artscape Prize and a Baker Artist Award winner.

Most recently, "Squeegee Boy" is concluding its international festival run at the Byron Bay International Film Festival in Australia, where it is featured in the festival's High School Program. This milestone highlights not only the global reach of her work but also the film's ability to resonate with younger audiences, reflecting her commitment to stories about lived experiences, social issues, and personal perspective.

Looking back at her undergraduate years, she remembers the excitement of curating an art exhibition for her art and design certificate program, a project called Doppelganger that involved securing a historical building and finding local artists to contribute. She also recalls a "work and travel" summer in California that left her with a strong impression of life in the United States and influenced her desire to stay. "Traveling in California gave me a really good impression of my future prospects," she said. "I wanted to stay in the U.S."

Her advice for students today is simple and heartfelt. "Studying is important, but try different things and make new friends. It's one of the most important things in undergrad." And when asked to summarize her entire journey in a single sentence, she chose words that reflect every twist, risk, and leap she has taken.

"Follow your heart."