University of the Arts brought them to Philadelphia — now these graduates call the City of Brotherly Love home
The community Dickenson built while pursuing a BFA convinced the West Chester native to stay on in Philly after graduation. After four years at the art school, the North Jersey native is “an aggressive Philadelphia advocate,” so much so that she persuaded her fiancé to move back to the city after five years in New York.
“When I got to Philly, I felt like I could finally breathe,” said Dickenson, who studied illustration at UArts from 2018 to 2023. “In West Chester, I felt like a big fish in a small pond, and in Philly I felt like a small fish in a huge pond, which was very appealing to me.” St. Cyr’s individuality as an artist was important to her, and she felt the school valued that from her first audition. They focused on her as an individual, rather than trying to “break you down and then rebuild you into a marketable actor in the industry.” And it’s the same energy she’s found in Philly’s theater scene two years post-grad.
“The welcome I felt walking into was not matched by any other college tour, and that great energy has remained true throughout my years at the school — all thanks to the amazing professors who’ve made me the artist I am today,” she said.