Cognitive Empath

Designing media with the understanding that it invokes emotion, leads to actions, and creates change.

My name is LaNeal Nance, and I’m applying to pursue a Master of Fine Arts. I’ve been creating for as long as I can remember. I was always the person people went to for drawing growing up, and that eventually led me into architectural drafting in high school. From there, I moved into industrial design, where I started to understand not just how to make things, but how people actually interact with them.

The way I think about my work always comes back to a few questions. How is someone going to interact with this? How will it make them feel? And once they feel something, what will they do next? I tend to think ahead like that, almost predictively. Whether it’s a project or just a conversation, I’m always thinking about how something will land and what it might lead to.

That way of thinking didn’t come out of nowhere. A lot of it comes from my time in the military and my work at Brehm Preparatory School. Early on, I did really well following structure, adapting, and getting things done. But when I moved into leadership roles, I started noticing something. Even when I explained things clearly and adjusted my approach, the results didn’t always change.

At first, that was frustrating. But over time, I realized it wasn’t just about the system or the task, it was about how people understood it. That’s when I started paying more attention to communication, perception, and behavior. I had already been doing that with students at Brehm without really thinking about it, but that experience made it more intentional.

That same shift happened again when I was studying Industrial Design at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. We had to build personas and design for specific users. Early on, I would design what I thought made sense, then try to justify it later. My professors kept asking the same question: how does this connect to your user?

Eventually, it clicked. If you’re not solving a real problem for the person you’re designing for, you’re just making something for yourself. That changed how I approach everything.

After graduating, I didn’t go straight into product design. I moved into graphic design and marketing at Brehm, where I started doing photography, video, web, and social media. At first, it was just part of the job, but over time I started to see how powerful visual storytelling could be. Video especially stood out to me because it adds timing, pacing, and emotion in a way static design can’t.

Working with Cameron Curry at CamcorderFilmz pushed that even further. I started out helping with his website and social media, but it grew into a creative partnership. During a nine-month deployment in 2025, I earned a Film and Video Certificate from Full Sail. That experience really sharpened my technical skills and made it clear that I wanted to keep building in this space.

What draws me to media is how it creates connection. When I watch films, I get invested in the characters and the decisions they make. I pay attention to what’s intentional and what’s not. If something is left out, I want it to be on purpose. I notice gaps, missed opportunities, and things that could have been pushed further, and that motivates me to create work that feels complete, unless leaving something open is part of the design.

I’m pursuing an MFA because I’m ready for that next level of challenge. I miss being in an environment where people can push back on my work in a meaningful way. I’ve grown a lot on my own, but I want structure, critique, and pressure. I want my ideas tested and refined.

SIU feels like the right place for that. I’ve already built a foundation there, and being in Southern Illinois gives me the space to focus without distractions. It’s a place where I can actually think and experiment while still being pushed to improve.

Going into the MFA, I want to bring everything together, design, storytelling, and systems thinking. I want to create work that is intentional, where people don’t just see it, but experience it. This isn’t a reset for me. It’s the next step in something I’ve already been building through my experiences, my work, and how I think.