- People
- Leadership & Staff
- Research faculty
- Gabriela Aceves-Sep煤lveda
- Alissa N. Antle
- Sheelagh Carpendale
- Parmit Chilana
- Jon Corbett
- Steve DiPaola
- Halil Erhan
- Brian Fisher
- Marek Hatala
- Kate Hennessy
- Alireza Karduni
- Sylvain Moreno
- Carman Neustaedter
- Will Odom
- Philippe Pasquier
- Niranjan Rajah
- Bernhard Riecke
- Gillian Russell
- Thecla Schiphorst
- Chris Shaw
- Wolfgang Stuerzlinger
- Ron Wakkary
- 脰. Nilay Yal莽in
- Palashi Vaghela
- Teaching faculty
- Emeritus
- Adjunct Faculty
- Alumni
- Work at SIAT
- Opportunities
- Research
- Programs
- News & Events
- Spaces & Equipment
- StudioSIAT
- Media
- Showcase
- Showcase Submission Form
- Fall 2025 Project Showcase
- IAT 100 Onions on the Side
- IAT 100 LEGS
- IAT 100 Where is My Husband
- IAT 202 On the Line
- IAT 233 The Voronial Pavilion
- IAT 235 CMC Pet
- IAT 238 Jazzdor Festival Microsite
- IAT 265 Aquarium Life
- IAT 312 Greedy Goblins
- IAT 312 Take the Reins
- IAT 313 Hollow Sacrifice: A Dying World
- IAT 313 Sporefall: No One Left Behind
- IAT 313 The Innocent's Descent
- IAT 333 Mastercard Fraud Analysis Dashboard
- IAT 333 Vancouver Police Museum: Adaptive Mode
- IAT 334 Roominate
- IAT 334 Spotify Jam Feature Addition
- IAT 343 The Secret of the Skygarden
- IAT 343 Autoviscera
- IAT 343 We'll Be Right Back
- IAT 351 Moody
- IAT 351 Anchor Funds
- IAT 355 The Voyager
- IAT 355 The Housing Crisis
- IAT 359 Chemtrails: The All-in-One Travel Planner
- IAT 359 Consistency
- IAT 387 PhoenixRise
- IAT 445 Santa's Little Helper
- IAT 445 Something Lurking
- Spring 2025 Project Showcase
- Fall 2024 Project Showcase
- Summer 2024 Project Showcase
- Spring 2024 Project Showcase
- Fall 2023 Project Showcase
- Spring 2023 Project Showcase
- Fall 2022 Project Showcase
- Spring 2022 Project Showcase
- Fall 2021 Project Showcase
- Spring 2021 Project Showcase
- Fall 2020 Project Showcase
- Contact
- Staff & faculty resources
Meet Carlos Montoya-Aviles, recipient of the Cody Sawatsky Memorial Award in Gaming
Carlos Montoya-Aviles is a SIAT student pursuing a Bachelor of Science. He was recently presented with the Cody Sawatsky Memorial Award in Gaming.
From a young age, Carlos had an interested in the arts, especially films and video games. The history and stories told through these mediums, both on screen and behind the scenes, particularly stood out to Carlos.
鈥淚 have vivid, cherished memories of making stop-motion fight scenes out of LEGO minifigures with my best friend using Windows Movie Maker or my dad and I playing through Ocarina of Time and being in awe at the epic adventures Zelda games held,鈥� he says.
After graduating high school, Carlos knew he wanted to pursue a career making films and video games, but found himself on an educational path pursuing what he felt others wanted him to do, rather than what truly mattered to him.
Feeling unhappy with his decisions and needing a change, Carlos decided to listen to his gut and transfer to 天美mv天美 where he began taking courses in Interactive Arts & Technology.
鈥淩ight in front of me were people making amazing projects in the mediums I adored. I knew I had to make the jump and once I did, it was night and day.鈥�
It took Carlos some time to adjust and to find his footing at SIAT but being passionate about his studies and working towards his dreams made all the difference.
鈥淛oining SIAT was the best thing that could have happened in my academic career,鈥� says Carlos. 鈥淚t allowed me to dedicate myself to what mattered most to me.鈥�
Since joining SIAT, Carlos has been able to showcase his filmmaking around Vancouver and allowed him to refine his game development skills.
This year, Carlos has been named as the recipient of the Cody Sawatsky Memorial Award in Gaming, an award that recognizes a SIAT student who has successfully completed course work in gaming and has demonstrated outstanding project work within the completed course work.
The award is presented in memory of Cody Sawatsky, an engaged and driven SIAT alumnus who was very successful as a video game producer and designer in Vancouver. Cody passed away in 2016.
鈥淚鈥檓 deeply humbled and grateful to be the [Cody Sawatsky Award] recipient this year, and in researching its history, I鈥檓 touched by the award鈥檚 legacy,鈥� says Carlos. 鈥淩eceiving the award has made me reflect on my journey this far and has made me confident that I鈥檝e driven myself towards the right path.鈥�