Graduating media arts senior Stephen Purcell can boldly say that his college career has been a success.

Purcell, 22, is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in media arts with a minor in Japanese. He studied abroad in Japan for a year, is finishing his senior thesis and is nominated for the Media Arts Outstanding Senior Award. And he did this all in three and a half years.

Purcell has made the most of his time at the UA. A Tucson native, Purcell came to the UA because it was close to home and he was offered scholarships.

Initially he planned to double major in computer science and business but quickly realized that it just wasn’t for him.

“”I couldn’t sit in front of a computer long enough,”” Purcell said. “”I needed something different.””

At the same time Purcell became interested in Japanese culture. He decided to mix this with his love for movies when choosing a major in media arts.

During his sophomore year Purcell traveled to Tokyo where he attended Waseda University for a year. The experience helped him find focus.

“”Once I got back from Japan I knew that I wanted to go back and continue my studies there,”” Purcell said. “”Studying abroad gave a certain focus to my life.””

This was geared to studying international information and global collaboration, the same topic that Purcell is doing his senior thesis on.

“”There is an international aspect to my life that has always sort of been there but going to Tokyo kind of awakened that,”” Purcell said.

With a goal in mind Purcell worked through the remainder of his undergrad studies. Now with graduation around the corner, Purcell is close to finishing summa cum laude, with a GPA above 3.9.

Although graduation has come quickly for Purcell, he is happy with his time at the UA and all the people he met along the way.

“”The thing about the media arts world is that you are so reliant on your peers and your connections that I have all the faith in the world that I will meet these people again in the future,”” Purcell said.

He plans on moving to Japan in order to continue his education at Waseda University in the Graduate School of Global Information and Telecommunication Studies.

From there he hopes to pursue a career in studying new media technologies and their socio-political impact.

“”I want to be able to take advantage of all the great experiences I have been able to accumulate in order to do something on an international scale that hopefully makes things better for international communication.””