The Middle School class had the honor of hearing from alumna Thembisa Mshaka ’88, a multidisciplinary creative whose notable work as an author, voice actor, media producer, filmmaker, and creative director has earned her numerous Telly and Promax BDA Awards, Voice Arts Awards nominations, including Westridge’s 2023 Mary Lowther Ranney Distinguished Alumna Award.

From her tenures at BET Networks and Sony Music to supporting renowned artists’ campaigns, Thembisa has built a lifelong career dedicated to uplifting creatives like herself.  She continues doing so in her most recent award-winning (Clio and Promax Global Excellence) short film for the BET Black Canvas Project, which highlights the work of artists, the majority of whom are muralists, in local communities around the country who were given a blank billboard to design. The film follows the trajectory of artists’ lives, creative processes, and mural-making across different neighborhoods. For Thembisa, one of the most impactful aspects of her film is providing artists with a platform to be represented in their own cities and capturing how local communities get to experience their art. Beyond writing the movie script and conceptualizing the film, she sought to “create positive cycles of awareness” by incorporating the artists’ social media handles in their artwork, going beyond the small signature muralists typically get to include in their work.

"Thembisa reminded our students of the transformative power of creativity and resilience. Her reflections on finding her spark at Westridge and how it shaped her career inspire all of us to embrace our unique talents, take pride in our creative processes, and recognize the value of every experience—no matter how small—in shaping our paths,” said Dr. Zanita Kelly, director of Lower and Middle Schol. “Her message truly resonated with our students, empowering them to see themselves as architects of their own stories."

Thembisa credits her formative experience at Westridge for her fruitful career in the arts, particularly the influence of Ceramics Teacher Juanita Mizuno Jimenez. From grades 8 to 12 Thembisa spent any time she could in the Ceramics Studio, which became like a second home. It is also where she learned the value and power of art—as Thembisa states, “[Juanita’s] mentorship, tutelage, and deep love for the success that comes from repeated failure–and the lessons that come from making pots and shaping clay–literally informed my path as a creative.” Thembisa remarked, “[Juanita] gave me permission to be a creative.”