Hall of Fame 14 Inductees
Benjamin Rice
“I love being able to be a part of creating something that means something to somebody else, to move someone in some way.”
“I love being able to be a part of creating something that means something to somebody else, to move someone in some way.”
Benjamin Rice is a household name in the music industry. Working alongside the biggest talents of our generation, he is a Grammy Award Winning record and vocal producer, songwriter, mix engineer and musician! He has assisted artists like: Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Brittney Spears and countless others.
Benjamin graduated from the Recording Arts Department in 2012. His career kick started working as an assistant engineer in Hollywood. He is an inspiration to all of us students, representing how far students can take their dreams with the right work ethic and education.
Mark Diaz
“When I was in high school, I realized [game development] could be a career because I just couldn't see myself doing anything else.”
“When I was in high school, I realized [game development] could be a career because I just couldn't see myself doing anything else.”
Mark Diaz is the definition of living the programming dream. In his role as the Lead Gameplay Programmer for Insomniac Games, he turned his passion for programming into a successful, ever-growing career in the gaming industry. During his 10 years in the industry, he has worked on everything from DOOM to Marvel games we all love.
Graduating in 2014 as the valedictorian of his class, Mark saw the power of studying what you are passionate about, something we can all learn from!
Michael La Plante
“I’m really passionate about empowering the next generation because at some point I'm going to get old or something's going to happen and I'm not going to be able to do this anymore.”
Michael La Plante is the best mentor you could have. Working nearly his whole life developing technology, his experience and knowledge is priceless. Starting out climbing through ceilings arranging wires, the entrepreneur now runs his own company: LaPlante Web Development. He is in charge of areas like software development, cybersecurity and much more. Along with that, he is the Vice President of Technology at Proforma, an award-winning name.
He is a Hall of Fame regular who loves helping students build connections and land jobs. In previous years, he’s spent a lot of time helping us young talents, because he believes in us and our abilities. Make sure you look out for him this week!
Nadine Santos
“I would be looking at producers at very young ages where I feel like no one else really cared,” she says. “But I had to know every little bit about it.”
Nadine names her early interest in music production as an “obsession”. Native to New York, music surrounded her. She had to know every detail about her favorite tracks, from the producer tag to all the people credited, she was on it.
After discovering Full Sail, Nadine understood her dreams could be a reality, similar to most of us students! She took her Behind the Scenes Tour and never looked back. Graduating in 2001, she was ready to spring right into the workforce. Flashforward–her career in the music industry is hitting its 20 year mark and it still feels the same as when she started.
Natalie Asport
“Support people who do amazing things.”
2013 Computer Animation graduate Natalie Asport has forged a career that many Full Sail students aspire to emulate. Natalie is the definition of a multi-faceted talent. She is a game developer, VFX artist, writer, musician, and much more. She has worked on many of the iconic video games we know and love, such as the Mortal Kombat and the Just Cause Series.
Natalie also has an awe-inspiring passion for helping out the next generation of Game Developers. She serves as an adjunct professor at New York University, teaching a 3D Modeling for Games class for which she co-wrote the curriculum. She has also spoken as a part of Full Sail’s BTS experts panel, giving students tips on how to break into the industry and sharing her experiences after graduation. Natalie has more than proven herself worthy of being one of this year's Hall of Fame Inductees!
Nina Lopez-Corrado
“My whole entire career, my goal has always been to work at HBO. It’s like the crème de la crème of television, you know, they always had the best shows when I was growing up.”
Nina Lopez-Corrado is a producer/director who has gotten to work on a few of the biggest shows in television. To name a few: The Mentalist, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as some HBO originals. When it was time for college, after touring Full Sail’s campus, she immediately knew she wanted to study film here and start her path to working on TV. She learned as much as she could from her classmates and instructors and after graduating, moved to L.A. to pursue her dreams.
She started as a director’s assistant to Chris Long and was committed to going the extra mile in everything she did, which paid off as her career went on. Her biggest dream was to work for HBO and she went on to achieve that as well. Nina has accomplished many of her goals but is constantly working to achieve more. She is a reminder that we should never stop dreaming, who knows where it might take us!
Kareena Khurana
