A Love of Art and Technology

Roxanne Hicklin graduated with a BA in Fine Arts from Salem College. She spent her summers as a sketch artist at Carowinds, capturing quick likenesses of people on the sidewalk before their attention wandered, along with their feet. Following graduation, she was able to parlay that skill into working at Channel 5 News as a courtroom sketch artist, learning graphic arts and computer animation while there. Her ability to be adaptable and always learning on the job led her from Channel 5 to SAS, and finally landing as a volunteer and philanthropist at NC State, where she’s mentoring and nurturing a new generation of artists.

Hicklin, who isn’t an alumna, found her connection to NC State through the women’s basketball team. She was a personal friend of Kay Yow and was able to go with the teams on a few road trips while Yow was a coach. While she wishes she had attended NC State, she realized that she didn’t have to be an alumna to support the university.

As an undergraduate student, Hicklin received a needs-based scholarship to attend Salem College, so she wanted to support a student in the way that she had been supported.

When she first learned what the MADTech students were working on, she saw the skills she had to learn on the job throughout her career being taught in one place. “The technology they are using now – it didn’t exist when I was in school, so I had to learn it on the job,” Hicklin says. “That’s always what inspired me to move from place to place – finding something that was challenging. This is a challenging field, and I want to support students who have the desire to push boundaries and see where that leads.” she adds.

Hicklin was often left to “figure it out,” especially when it came to her first foray into 3D animation with Channel 5 News. She describes how the company acquired one of only five 3D animation machines in the country and was given a three-ring binder with a set of instructions that she had to teach herself. SAS had a similar machine, and Hicklin transitioned to working there, holding a variety of roles before eventually spearheading the acquisition of the art for the company.

Now, she volunteers her time to coordinate with the student art sale at NC State, even contributing towards the prize the winning students receive in 2D design, 3D design or multimedia. “I was just looking for a good place to make a difference,” she says. “I saw that there wasn’t a visual artist award, so I said, ‘Let’s make one.’ And we did.”

Hicklin has come a long way since her days as a young college student sketching on the grounds at an amusement park. But she hasn’t forgotten the impact that philanthropy made in her own life, so she continues to find ways to support students both across NC State and at her alma mater, Salem College. Forming the Roxanne Hicklin Scholarship for students in the College of Design is just one of many ways she is addressing that.

This article first appeared in the May 2024 issue of Designlife magazine. Explore other articles from this issue.