The Enterprise Program awards the Enterprise Distinguished Service Awards to recognize the dedication and exceptional contributions of advisors and champions who have played pivotal roles in shaping the program’s success. Each of the award winners has more than 15 years of service within Enterprise, dedicating their time and expertise to guiding teams, ensuring student success, and advancing the program’s discovery-based learning mission.
The recipients of the Enterprise Distinguished Service Award are Jim DeClerck, Scott Kuhl, Erin Smith, and Ruth Archer. This four-part series highlights the contributions of each award recipient.
Director, Humanities Digital Media Zone, Director, 41 North Film Festival
Students at Michigan Tech have long explored filmmaking through individual courses, but the CinOptic Enterprise gave them something rare — a sustained, real‑world creative environment. Erin Smith, a teaching professor in digital media and cinema, advised CinOptic from its inception, guiding students through ambitious long-arc media projects and collaborative partnerships.
Creating a Space for Creative Work
The idea for CinOptic started as a hybrid engineering‑and‑arts project, but quickly evolved into a fully creative team, drawing students from both the Department of Humanities and the Department of Visual and Performing Arts. It offered students the chance to work on media projects that unfolded over one to three years, mirroring the timelines of real production work.
“Pre‑production, production, post‑production — these things take time,” Smith says, who also serves as director of the Humanities Digital Media Zone and director of the 41 North Film Festival. “CinOptic gave students the space to develop those skills deeply and collaboratively.”
Although CinOptic did not have a corporate sponsor, the team’s model was client‑based work. Students partnered primarily with faculty on grant projects and occasionally with outside clients, such as the National Park Service (NPS). They learned to navigate expectations, deadlines, and accuracy, lessons Smith reinforced with a line they all remember: “‘If you’re not worrying, I am.’ Part of the job was getting them to worry about it, to remember that someone is waiting for this project and they gave money and resources to ensure it gets done.”
Fieldwork and Global Experiences
CinOptic’s projects often took students far beyond campus. A project with Adjunct Professor Thomas Oommen took students to Alaska and New Mexico, documenting field research in challenging environments.
One of the most meaningful collaborations came through Professor Caryn Heldt, who wrote a CinOptic student directly into an NSF grant. That intentional partnership led the team to Denmark (a trip Smith joined) and Singapore, where they documented research and learned firsthand how communication shapes scientific impact.
CinOptic also completed a three‑year project with the NPS to produce videos for Isle Royale. After the pandemic shutdown, Smith and three students traveled to the island to finish filming, an experience she describes as unforgettable.
Working with researchers required students to learn quickly and communicate precisely. They developed scripts in close collaboration with faculty, including Associate Professor Erika Hersch-Green, ensuring that complex ideas were conveyed accurately and clearly.
A Lasting Community
Across nearly two decades, CinOptic became a community defined by leadership, creativity, and shared purpose, and Smith remains grateful for the students who shaped the team.
“I had so many excellent students who gave their time and commitment. I’m still in touch with many of them. The relationships we built in Enterprise are different from what happens in a classroom, and I’m very thankful for them.”
CinOptic shaped many students during its long run, leaving a lasting imprint on Michigan Tech’s creative landscape. Under Smith’s guidance, it became a place where storytelling, collaboration, and curiosity could thrive.
About the Enterprise Program
Michigan Tech’s Enterprise Program offers students a unique, hands-on learning experience that goes beyond the classroom. With more than 25+ Enterprise teams spanning disciplines such as engineering, business, computing, and science, students collaborate on real-world projects sponsored by industry and government partners. Enterprise students develop technical expertise, leadership skills, and teamwork experience—preparing them for success in their careers. Many teams work on cutting-edge innovations, from automotive and aerospace to sustainability and emerging technologies.
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