Creative Work is Teamwork: SNHU's First Graphic Storytelling Challenge

A few terms ago, an email landed in the inboxes of eligible students enrolled in Southern New Hampshire University's (SNHU) online undergraduate creative writing program and online undergraduate graphic design program.

That email was an invitation to participate in SNHU’s first-ever Graphic Storytelling Challenge, an experiential learning opportunity designed for aspiring creative professionals.

The Challenge: Write a 4-Page Comic in 8 Weeks

The premise of the challenge was simple.

Students would be divided into small teams of creative writing and graphic design majors. They’d have 8 weeks — the length of an undergraduate term at SNHU — to create a 4-page comic book, plus a unique cover.

That comic book would be judged by a panel of industry professionals, and one team would come out on top (or so they thought; more on that later). Winners would also be published in SNHU's literary journal, The Penmen Review.

To make things more interesting, the challenge required that each comic be inspired by the same prompt.

Paul Witcover, an associate dean of SNHU’s online liberal arts program, helped organize the challenge along with fellow associate dean Sloan Kelly. He said the first step for each team was determining responsibilities.

“Each group decided how they would work together in a productive manner, usually by assigning specific students to particular roles,” he said. “The creative writing students were responsible for the plot, the script and the dialogue, while the graphic design students were responsible for page layouts, penciling, inking, coloring and word-balloon placement.”

With their prompt as a starting point and their team structure decided, students got to work.

Teamwork, Technical Skills and Trying New Things

Once the challenge was underway, one theme that arose across the board, students said, was the necessity for true teamwork. Katie Garrison, a current student in SNHU’s graphic design program, said that learning to communicate effectively with her fellow teammates was essential.

“I learned fast that a bunch of creative minds in the same mix, asked to cooperate with one another when you’ve only just met, is a challenge in and of itself!” she said. “But I also learned the importance of every person’s own unique set of skills.”

Art Malina, a current student in SNHU’s creative writing program, said the value of teamwork rang particularly true for him when he faced a significant personal obstacle.

“During the challenge, I was in a car accident and was unable to stay focused on the tasks that needed attention,” he said. “My team, without hesitation and full of empathy, took over the tasks I needed for two weeks so I could heal.”

For graphic design student Mario Williams, working with a team wasn’t just about sharing skills. He said it was about keeping morale and motivation high, too.

“It was a lot of long nights, but also a lot of laughs,” he said.

Creative writing student Ravyn Martin said the experiential learning opportunity gave them the chance to practice influence and impact in a new way.

“I was nominated by my team to become the editorial project manager,” they said. “I learned leadership skills, time management and how to handle challenges that might cause setbacks for deadlines.”

Garrison also spoke to practical skills, which she attributed to working alongside creatives of different disciplines, interests and experiences.

“We picked up a large amount of technical knowledge: how to lay out the pages of a comic book, the process by which they’re created — and the sheer amount of polish it takes to go from a rough sketch to a colored piece of art that’s ready to be viewed by the world,” she said.

Dedication was also a necessity for this challenge. At one point, Garrison said, she’d spent an entire day, morning to evening, in the same chair as she worked meticulously on illustrating her team’s comic — plus part of her birthday weekend out of town inking lines on her tablet.

Not One, But Two First-Place Teams

As SNHU's first Graphic Storytelling Challenge came to an end, the judges identified two winning comic books:

• "The Timeless" by Katie Garrison, Hannah Morris, Tristian Weiss, Sarah Cowart, Jackson Rivenbark and Sean Ryan
• "The Jeong Brothers in the Time Inn: Souls Beyond Time" by Art Malina, Elise Pickens, Mario Williams, Ravyn Martin and Neil Nichols

“The thrill of having industry judges — people I’ve heard the names of before and never thought would be laying their eyes on something I helped create — compliment my work was a feeling like nothing else,” Garrison said. 

That panel of judges included:

• Ti Collier, design director for the Square Enix Manga & Books imprint at Penguin Random House
• Meghan Hetrick, professional illustrator and comic artist known for her work with major publishers, including Marvel and DC Comics
• Darren Sanchez, CEO and co-founder of After Hours Press and host of the "Comics After Hours" podcast

Malina said he appreciated that the judges treated each team of students as they would treat a group of professionals. They provided honest, in-depth feedback meant to help even a team of winners improve.

“The judges were tough,” he said. “But when they came to us, it was a trove of positive feedback with minor tweaks... It was shocking and overwhelming in the most positive ways.”

The Value of Visual Storytelling

In the age of AI, many are growing curious about human skills, considering what humans can do that computers can’t (Deloitte PDF source). Amidst these conversations, comic book writer ("Deadpool," "Avengers") and founder of Comic Book School, Buddy Scalera, said he feels hopeful.

“As of this moment in 2026, AI is creating confusion and raises ethical questions — but it also represents opportunities for creative people,” he said. “There is an audience that craves human authenticity. I’m very optimistic that this moment in technology has increased the awareness that human-created art still matters.”

It was this sentiment, along with his appreciation for learning and teaching, that led Scalera to serve as a resident expert for SNHU’s Graphic Storytelling Challenge. He and artist Sean Chen ("Iron Man," "Spider-Man") worked to create over 30 video tutorials for challenge participants in which they shared their combined knowledge and experience in creating comics.

“We created these short-form videos to explain key concepts in storytelling, some of which can feel abstract,” he said. “We focused on the real-world execution of creating comics, which has changed significantly since we started over 30 years ago. The videos grounded the lessons in practical steps that students could follow.”

Scalera highlighted an array of skills he feels students gained from participating in this challenge: honing their craft (writing or designing), developing a growth mindset and practicing effective communication, to name a few.

But he also emphasized the sometimes unexpected importance of community — especially for creatives.

“Get out in the world. Socialize and meet people. Connect and embrace doers because they will nudge you to bring your projects to completion,” he said. “This is hard for some creatives, since we tend to live inside our own heads, but find your community.”

Abigail (Abby) Syversen-Mark ’23G is a copywriter, contributing content writer and adjunct faculty member at Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU). A passionate storyteller, Abby hopes her writing will help prospective students and employees alike see just how transformative SNHU could be for them (as it’s been pretty transformative for her). You can connect with her on LinkedIn.