Ringling Students Light Up Winter 2026
Our Ringling College of Art & Design Student Chapter has been making waves since its launch at AWE USA in June 2024, and they kicked off 2026 with impressive showcases of creativity, technical skill, and heart.
On January 16, students Vida Villanueva (Chapter President), Alaina Smith (Vice President), and Yuxuan "Linda" He (Secretary) presented Patchwork Pizzeria in a virtual showcase hosted in Frame VR. This delightful VR pizza-making game, set in a whimsical cardboard world, serves a serious purpose: helping children with sickle cell disease manage pain through interactive training exercises. Developed in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Children's Hospital and Conquering the Curve, the project demonstrated the students' commitment to using XR for social good.
XR Women Student Showcase featuring Ringling College Students Yuxuan "Linda" He, Alaina Smith, and Vida Villanueva, January 16, 2026.
The presentation itself was a testament to their skills. The team customized the virtual environment using 2D and 3D assets from Patchwork Pizzeria and even trained a chatbot to answer questions about sickle cell disease. Attendees were impressed by both the depth of thought behind the project and the sophistication of the presentation.
XR Women Student Showcase featuring Ringling College Students Yuxuan "Linda" He, Alaina Smith, and Vida Villanueva, January 16, 2026.
But the Ringling students didn't stop there. Over January 22-25 at the MIT Reality Hack—a storied event that's been running since 2014 and draws over 350 participants from around the world—our student chapter members tackled new challenges and came home with recognition.
Linda, a 3D generalist and artist, expressed amazement at working with hardware for the first time, collaborating on Power Pet, a VR and physical pet companion for stress and emotional regulation that incorporated robotics, Arduino, and hand tracking for Meta Quest 3. Chapter Treasurer Hyesoo "Soo" Koh and her team explored the Snap Spectacles and Lens Studio, both firsts for her, with Sunbeam, an AR toolkit for communities. Chapter member Natasha Patel, a junior, built SafeSight for Snap Spectacles with her team. And Vida's team took home a prize for Best Implementation of Hand Tracking on Meta Quest with JazzCasters, an interactive music-driven spellcasting tower defense game.
Ringling Student Hyesoo Koh and Karen Alexander at the MIT Reality Hack, January 24, 2026.
I had the pleasure of connecting with all the students in person at MIT Reality Hack, and the experience became truly memorable when Linda, Vida, Natasha, and I found ourselves together at the Boston airport, bonding over travel delays caused by Winter Storm Fern as we tried to get home.
XR Women Co-Founder Karen Alexander with Ringling Students Vida Villanueva, Natasha Patel, and Yuxuan “Linda” He at the Boston airport, trying to get home in chaos of Winter Storm Fern, January 26, 2026.
Watching these students grow, innovate, and support each other reminds us why XR Women's student chapters matter. They're creating the future of our industry—with purpose, passion, and a whole lot of talent.
-Karen Alexander
Are you a student who would like to get involved with XR Women? Join at xrwomen.com/join or reach out to karen [at] xrwomen.com. Interested in starting a student chapter at your school? We'd love to hear from you at the same address.
XR Women Global Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
