Student Spotlight: Surya Vaidy

Surya Vaidy remembers watching “Tom and Jerry” cartoons at age 10 and appreciating the quirky typography and title screens. He didn’t realize it then, but those eye-catching visuals from the animated classic inspired Vaidy’s passion for multimedia and design. 

That drive led him to Syracuse University, where he graduated in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in geography from the College of Arts and Sciences and a minor in photo, video and design. But Vaidy felt like he still had more to learn after completing that minor, and decided to return to the Newhouse School to further explore his creative side and pursue a master’s degree in multimedia, photography and design (MPD). 

He pursued graduate school with the help of a Forever Orange Scholarship, which provides half of the tuition for Syracuse University students the fall after graduating with their bachelor’s degree.  

Studying at Newhouse allowed Vaidy to view photography as more than just a hobby. The opportunity to complete a master’s in multimedia, photography and design felt like a “sign from the universe,” he said. 

In 2023, Vaidy won a Gold Award in the Interpretive Eye category in the international College Photographer of the Year competition. This past September, six of Vaidy’s photos were selected to be shown at the Pingyao International Photography Festival in China.  

Vaidy credits visual communications faculty members Greg Heisler, Paula Nelson, Bruce Strong, Renée Stevens, Milton Santiago, Ken Harper, Seth Gitner, MaryAnne Golon and RC Concepción for guiding him at Newhouse.  

“Being taught by people who have done the things that I want to do has been invaluable,” Vaidy said. “Through them, I have received access to people who have a name, place and legacy the industry.” 

Vaidy, though, isn’t quite sure what he’s going to do next, because he was exposed to so many ideas and potential career paths during his time in the master’s program. 

He said it was nerve-wracking to admit to himself that there were career options other than photography, but his professors and classes introduced him to new topics, and he learned to fall in love with the technical aspects, artistic components and the human connection of visual communications.  

“There are these revelations you have once you start doing at a higher level what you thought you wanted to do in the field, and what you are introduced to at school. And you kind of balance, and you start figuring [out] … where do my new loves align,” Vaidy said.  

“And for me, I think photography for a publication, magazine or newspaper, would be a lovely start,” he added. “But I also think I would like to be behind the desk, behind the scenes, working as an editor, coordinating with people.”  

One of Vaidy’s most memorable experiences at Newhouse was covering the Empire State Winter Games in February 2024. He was never interested in sports photography before that assignment in Lake Placid; he left knowing that he could cover sports, too.  

Vaidy ended his classes in December, and hopes to defend this thesis and graduate in May 2025. He said his only regret is that he didn’t ask more questions earlier during his time as a Newhouse master’s student. 

“To have people who challenge you, not in a destructive way, but in a constructive way—that changes you for the better,” Vaidy said. “That that gives you a platform to boost off” your career.