Meet AJ Schramek and Senior Exhibition project Life is a Drag!

This is one in a series of online interviews with MIAD seniors, who share their thoughts about their 2025 Senior Exhibition project and their MIAD education.

AJ Schramek ’25 (Animation Track in Illustration) is a President’s (Honor) List student from Villa Park, Ill., who received a 2025 MIAD Alumni Senior Thesis Award.

What is your “elevator pitch” for your senior exhibition project?

“Life is a Drag!” is the first issue of a comic series, with a link to an animated comic cover, suited for an LGBTQ+ audience. The story showcases the meet-cute between a drag queen and a drag racer who likes to take racing off the track.

Anything you’d like to share about yourself or MIAD?

My MIAD experience has made me a stronger artist. It has allowed me to explore my passions further surrounded by other amazing creatives; collaborating ideas and offering an all-around supportive environment. It has also provided me with amazing portfolio-building opportunities as well as the ability to use industry-standard software to prepare me for the professional world beyond. Overall, MIAD has been very good to me, and I am sad to leave it.

My post-grad plans are to be a freelance illustrator and independent comic creator.

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