As part of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, we want to celebrate our incredible female students who are up to great initiatives alongside their courses.
Here’s just a selection of the talent undertaking inspiring work within the SAE community.
Yuliia Kiviuk | (DJ TREEXY)
Yuliia is a Ukrainian DJ and an aspiring EDM producer making their first steps into the industry.
While studying in Liverpool, Yuliia makes the journey over to Manchester every month to play a club night where she shows off her love for Ukrainian culture and music.
Anjum Islam
Content Creation & Online Marketing, Liverpool
Anjum is from Southampton but is now studying at our Liverpool campus, exploring her love for photography.
Anjum’s project, ‘Bloodmoon’, is inspired by a love for dark fiction and horror and features a witch named Sara and a vampire named Rebecca who run away together.
Commenting, Anjum said: “I enjoyed making this project as I was able to create different outfits and aesthetics that generally reflect my style and used props such as spellbooks and candles for good close-up shots. Lighting was one of my favourite features as I was able to play around and experiment with different colours and effects.”
Serah Verity Miles
Serah is a transgender artist and producer from Paisley, Scotland with a lot to say about religion, politics and feelings. When not fighting for trans rights, she’ll be found jamming, singing, making coffee, and playing board games.
Serah Verity is her artist persona, with the goal of telling a story of trans resistance and expression despite the hostility towards trans and gender non-conforming people.
Ryta Portnova
Content Creation and Online Marketing, Liverpool
Rita originally hails from the Ukraine and moved to the UK as the conflict began. She started working in a restaurant before joining SAE in September 2024.
Her ‘Vyshyvanka’ photo project is of Ukrainian women in traditional Ukrainian clothing and aims to celebrate the her homeland’s culture.
Commenting, Rita said: “The main goal of creating a photo shoot of girls in Ukrainian traditional outfits is to preserve and popularise the cultural heritage of Ukraine. Such photo shoots help to emphasise the beauty and uniqueness of Ukrainian national clothing, demonstrating its rich history and symbolism.”
“In addition, they contribute to the education of national self-awareness, and can also be used to draw attention to the traditions and customs of the Ukrainian people. With the help of visual content, you can inspire the younger generation to study and preserve their roots.
Cairo-Mia Ellis-Dormer
Game Art and Animation, London
Cairo-Mia is multi disciplinary London based creative specialising in Afro-fantasy themes.
Her work explores the topic of spiritualism and duality as part of an original comic series, ‘The Eclipse Project’, which aims to portray Blackness in magical forms.
To date, Cairo-Mia has released the first issue of a graphic novel with the same name. This takes the form of a fantasy story set on a post-apocalyptic earth depicting a battle between nature and technology.
Iryna Halchenko
Iryna was born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine, where she worked as a casting manager for a TV channel and produced YouTube projects. When the war began, she moved to the UK with no knowledge of English and focused on helping Ukrainian refugees adapt to life in the country. Once Iryna’s English skills reached a sufficient level, she decided to return to video production and enrolled at SAE to study.
Commenting on her work, Iryna said: “I am currently directing a ten-minute comedy short film about a tired god Jupiter who decides to take a vacation on earth, only to find the experience to be far from what he expected.”
“One of the biggest challenges for me in this project is working in English and assembling a team for every stage of production, as I have limited industry connections in London.”
Katelyn Mcintyre
Katelyn chose to study the degree to focus on her passion for music and the importance of supporting artists and the Scottish music scene.
Along with two fellow students, she formed Jam Piece, which is a collective focused on providing opportunities to bands and artists from outside Glasgow, who may be less likely to be granted the opportunity to perform in the city without the help established connections.
Commenting, Katelyn said: “As a collective, we focus on hosting events and providing two support slots to individuals/bands from outwith the city, to perform in popular Glasgow venues alongside a more established headline act. This provides the opportunity for artists to expand their audience, gain more experience and additionally, make vital contacts for their career. Jam Piece runs as a non-profit with our focus purely being artist support and providing a platform for artists to grow.”
She has also launched her own artist management company Nøise Management in January of this year, with two bands – neverfine and An Opening Lie.
Jessie L
Jessie L has been a Liverpool-based artist since February 2024 and released her first single, ‘Where Were You?’ back in April 2024.
She has performed at numerous gigs, including a local festival and an event for the Whitechapel Centre in Liverpool, Primal Live.
Commenting, Jessie said: “I am now working on an EP with a new record label that I am helping start up using my knowledge so far from my course at SAE. I have recently found a lost love for cosplay and have made a plan to bring this art to live performances, professional shoots and music videos to really show who I am through my music and aesthetically as well.”
STUDY AT SAE
Whether you want to work in Film Production, Audio Production or more, there are many different opportunities to elevate your career in the creative industries with us.
Our degrees will provide you with the skills, experience and knowledge to succeed at the highest level.
