VOICE AT DISNEY

ONE OF NINE SELECTED, ALEX HO — ARMY NATIONAL GUARDSMAN AND SON OF SINGAPOREAN IMMIGRANTS — HOPES TO BE OFFERED A JOB WITH 20TH TELEVISION AFTER THE TWO-YEAR EXECUTIVE INCUBATOR PROGRAM

By Stacey Federoff

After a five-month process and five intense rounds of interviews, Alex Ho knew an important call in December would determine if he earned a place as one of nine participants chosen by The Walt Disney Company for its Executive Incubator Program with Walt Disney Television.

To burn off energy, Ho (‘19) was running on the treadmill when the phone rang.

“I’m out of breath already, and then I get a call from their senior recruiters like, ‘Hey, we have fantastic news: We want to offer you this position.’” His first reaction?

“I wanted to throw up,” he said. Instead, he prayed, feeling intense gratitude for the opportunity. “So many months of hard work and investment that went into this and all the people who supported me — it was a huge relief.”

The program that Disney began in 2019 is meant to create opportunities for individuals with diverse backgrounds and varied perspectives.

Ho, of Adamsville, Pa., will rotate across different Disney networks, gaining experience in development, casting, production and marketing. The two-year apprentice-style program will conclude with a “deep dive” at 20th Television with a goal of job placement there.

“You’re here to contribute, you’re here to make this place better,” he reminds himself. “This place has selected you for a very specific reason because they want you to come as who you are.”

In 2005, Ho’s parents immigrated to the United States from Singapore when he was 9 years old. In his application video for the Disney program, Ho described how his earliest memories of American culture came from media — first as entertainment, then as a source of inspiration: “Every frame would soon lend itself to molding me as a storyteller.” said. “People like Alex are linchpins.”

A member of the Army National Guard since 2013, Ho said he cultivated his leadership skills while giving back to this country, which has given his family so much.

After transferring to Edinboro as a sophomore, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts-Applied Media Arts with a concentration in cinema. Since graduation, he has worked at National Geographic, first for one and a half years as an assistant editor, then for 10 months as a production assistant.

Ho said the university allowed him to connect with classmates who are just as passionate as he is about filmmaking and storytelling.

“I’m so grateful Edinboro gave me the group of students who I graduated with,” he said. “We were hungry to get into the (film) industry, trying to make a name for ourselves.”

Being chosen for this prestigious program with Disney has allowed him to look inward and consider what he can achieve.

“The better you know yourself, the better you’re going to know where you want to be,” Ho said.

Students or alumni looking to take a big leap in their careers should consider three things.

“The first thing is to be a sincere and genuine person who cares about people,” he said. “Secondly, be passionate about what you do, whatever it is. And lastly, be bold — find innovative ways to get in front of people and get your resume in front of (them),” he said.

With the help of R. Frank Media, he shot his application video on Edinboro’s campus, where in exchange, students from one class sat in on the production, then Ho spoke to another class led by Brian Fuller, assistant professor of digital filmmaking.

“It’s great whenever I hear about the success of any student, but whenever I hear about the success of a student who wants to see other students succeed, then we’re building a network of alumni coattails for others to follow,” Fuller

Sitting in on a meeting about a TV adaptation of the graphic novel “American Born Chinese” with actress Michelle Yeoh and director Destin Cretton of “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” Ho said he already experienced the program working to bring voices like his to the forefront.

“The really profound thing was that just past the faces on Zoom, I was seeing people who look like me — Asian Americans — behind the scenes doing what they could to make their mark in Hollywood and make it more inclusive and representative of my culture and my people,” he said. “I realized I’m in a place where I belong.”

A team of Edinboro University animation students finished in the global top five in the competitive national 24 HOURS Animation contest, hosted by world-renowned professional animation specialists.

Leah DeJohn, Abigail Frisch, Beau Henry, TK Kratz and Luke Shay, known as The Miraculous 112 – which created “The New Normal” from the official prompt – finished their submission in a record-breaking time of 12 hours, which was No. 1 in the entire U.S. The team placed fourth overall out of 208 teams that participated in the 19th year of the contest.

Edinboro University sent six teams to the annual competition for 2021.

“They all did great work, and we are very proud of all of them,” said Brad Pattullo, professor of art, animation and filmmaking at Edinboro. “We are blown away by the winning team’s accomplishment. These students are at the top of their class and are very talented, motivated and hardworking. They have a bright future ahead of them.”

The 24 HOURS Animation Contest, which was originally created to help animation students work collectively with accurate speed, meet deadlines and make creative decisions under pressure, now features more than 1,500 students from 71 schools and 11 countries.

“The Bidoofers,” a film from Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado in Brazil, took the top spot in the contest with 256 points. “InkPink” from Belas Artes University in Brazil finished second with 240 points. Seneca College in Toronto finished third with “Big Jug Juggalos,” while Capilano University in Vancouver rounded out the top five with “Prumboltar” and 233 points.

Teams of five animation students competed for 24 hours – between Oct. 15-16 – to design, animate and publish their