Geek Scholar

UAT students bring a wealth of life experience, passion and talent to the University. UAT-Online Game Design student Christopher Brendel has all three in spades, particularly when it comes to video games.

Brendel is a recipient of UAT's Well-Rounded Geek Scholarship. The yearly award recognizes talented students with a technology and community focus.

A game design enthusiast, the Illinois native had his eye on UAT for several years, and the increase in University scholarship opportunities prompted him to apply.

"I've always been interested in game design and there aren't any local schools that have anything like that as a major," he said.

Brendel got into video games at eight years old with the PC game Police Quest -purchasing it with gift money from his family. The game opened his eyes to the power of games as a visual medium, propelling him toward his career and education path.

"It was the first game I ever played, and I was hooked. And what drew me into it was the storytelling aspect of the game. And it was at that moment that I decided that I wanted to make games for a living, and I went from there."

Brendel is an independent game developer with two published games from his studio, Unimatrix Productions. He hopes to further his knowledge of game design and provide students with first-hand experiences of product development and publishing.

"In my essay, I described how my unique contribution would be that I've already been through a lot of what many students will not have gone through yet."

Brendel hopes to use his UAT education to expand his game company into a worldwide publisher, and is enthusiastic for the chance to work in the business that he loves.

"I would just be happy working in the game industry in some form relating to story design and writing."

(To learn more about the Well-Rounded Geek Scholarship and other grants, check out http://uat.edu/admissions/Scholarships.aspx.)  

Story by Trevor Green