New Media Department at the University of Maine, Orono

Biography

Born Rory Patrick McGuire to Sarah D. McGuire and Devin P. McGuire on April 18, 1992. Rory grew up in the beautiful state of Maine in it's capitol of Augusta. There he attended Hussey Elementary School, Hodgkins Middle School, and Cony High School which he graduated from in 2010. He now attends the University of Maine at Orono majoring in New Media (focusing in graphic design, photography, web design, programming) with a minor in Computer Science

Growing up Rory had no interest in sports, he was more fascinated with art and technology. His Aunt Bobbie and Grandfather both fostered these fascinations in him, teaching him new things about each throughout his childhood. Rory's Aunt taught him the freedom of expression, to be able to create anything that he wanted through many different materials, whether it be with paints, pencil, or clay. Throughout high school Rory would often be seen sketching things out in his notebook. Rory's Grandfather taught him about technology, computers in particular, and how they worked. He taught Rory what he could do with them, what he could achieve, and what he could make. Rory's fascination in art and technology can be directly attributed to his love of games. Unlike some, Rory doesn't play games for the game play alone, but for the experience, the immersion into the world. The worlds of games, in Rory's eyes, are a work of art and to be fully immersed in that particular world, story, and character experiences is way more satisfying then game play. However Rory does appreciate the technical side that goes to realizing these worlds and at times is completely mystified at the things programmers can accomplish.

Rory went to college as a computer engineer to fulfill his love for technology. He soon realized that he wasn't as much of a technical thinker that he thought he was, but more of a creative thinker. After realizing this he searched for a major that would fulfill both of his interest and hopefully give him the skills to eventually make games, art, and new technologies. Rory looked at New Media as a possibility. It gave him everything that he was looking for in a major and was an excellent choice for his two interest. With the unfortunate deaths of his Aunt in October and his Grandfather in January, Rory knew that New Media was the path that he wanted to take as a fitting tribute to his loved ones. He wished to do something with all the things that they taught him, and he's doing just that.