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Forward motion: Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School graduate wins second Emmy for graphic work

BG graduate wins second Emmy for graphic work

James Sweeney, a two-time Emmy winner, spent his teenage years doodling in the back of classrooms at Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School.

"But I paid attention in class and developed my love for the arts," he said in his own defense.

Now working as a motion designer for National Geographic, Sweeney has created trailers and design concepts for the business's programs, such as "Billy & Molly," "A Real Bug's Life" and "Dancing with the Stars," clinching a few awards in the process. He recently received his second Emmy for his graphic work on the trailer for "Chris Hemsworth: A Roadtrip to Remember."

Sweeney said there's never a dull moment at work.

"I can't believe where I'm at," he said. "It's a lot of fun, something I would have never dreamed of a few years ago."

One of eight children, Sweeney was number five in the lineup.

"I like to say I started the second half of the family," he said tongue-in-cheek.

Mother Kathleen Sweeney said her son was always drawing and writing, creating home movies inspired by films such as the "Star Wars" series. Sweeney's parents purchased him a computer for his movie projects.

"He started early when he was a kid," his mother said. "He's very creative."

Sweeney and his siblings were homeschooled together before they attended secondary school at Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School. While shifting from private to public school was a bit of an adjustment for Sweeney, he said, "Having a crowd at home helped."

At Bishop Guilfoyle, he said art was one of his favorite classes where he connected with former art teacher Jana Sidler.

"I enjoyed having that as an outlet after math, history and science, stuff I wasn't really a huge fan of," he said. "Art was at the end of the day, and I was like, 'Oh, I can enjoy and create something unique.'"

He remembered being assigned an art project during one of his classes, so he designed an architectural model of Bishop Guilfoyle by memory that included classrooms and the gym.

"I had fun with it; it wasn't a chore," he said.

After his teacher shared his project with all of her classes, she approached Sweeney and asked him about pursuing architecture in the future. He wasn't considering a career in that field, but he said her encouragement opened his eyes to different paths.

After graduating from Bishop Guilfoyle in 2011, he attended Franciscan University in Steubenville that fall to study communications and media studies. He learned many different media, including radio production and graphic design.

He was familiar with Franciscan University's campus, as two of his siblings attended college there before him, but he was still unsure about enrolling there himself.

"But I'm so grateful and blessed I did; it was the best four years of my life, not just because of the things I learned, but because of meeting new people and learning about myself and the things I can do in my field," he said.

Making motions

He graduated with a bachelor's degree in 2015 and returned to Altoona searching for work opportunities.

Finding a job out of college wasn't an immediate success, he said, noting that trial and error were involved in the process. He attended a baseball winter meeting conference in Nashville, Tennessee, and interviewed with both professional and minor league baseball teams, but none made a lasting impression on Sweeney.

Sure enough, the Altoona Curve reached out to Sweeney, and he became the minor league's creative service director in March 2016.

Sweeney worked with scoreboard projections and cameras, mainly helping with the creative details the minor league baseball team produces for its fans.

"It was a blast," he said. "It was some of the most fun I've had since I started working."

Because Altoona Curve jobs are seasonal, he said he searched for a full-time job before landing the Multimedia Designer position for the Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.

Amy DiSalvo, former Associate Director at Arena Stage, said Sweeney was always busy developing graphic designs for the theater's social media and video campaigns.

"He was really good at staying with the Arena Stage's brand while giving each play its own identity," she said.

Sweeney stayed at Arena Stage for more than two years before becoming a junior motion designer for National Geographic in February 2019. Eventually, he worked his way up to motion designer.

"All I needed was a foot in the door," he said. "God works in mysterious ways, and here I am today."

As a motion designer, Sweeney works on the graphic designs incorporated into upcoming company trailers. His trailer work includes "Freaky Fridays," "Cleopatra's Final Secret," "Billy & Molly" and "Blink." He also created design concepts for season 34 of "Dancing With The Stars" and a graphics package for the series "Hidden History with Kahlil Greene."

One of his favorite projects was designing graphics for "A Real Bug's Life," which gives viewers an inside look at real insects that survive various environments.

Playing off 1998's "A Bug's Life," Sweeney said "A Real Bug's Life" is geared toward an older audience. But he said he could "flex a kid's creative muscle" while designing the trailer's graphics.

Sweeney said there are typically multiple National Geographic programs ongoing, which helps them think on their feet.

"You can see your work spread across millions of views," he said. "It's amazing."

Two-time Emmy winner

Sweeney doesn't have a case to display his two Emmy trophies yet.

In 2025, "Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story" won an Emmy for Outstanding Promotional Announcement, with Sweeney credited as motion designer. He won again one year later for his contributions to "Chris Hemsworth: A Roadtrip to Remember," also credited as motion designer.

The company used only a few graphics in "Chris Hemsworth: A Roadtrip to Remember" to avoid making Hemsworth's emotional story about his father's Alzheimer's diagnosis seem promotional.

"It's heartfelt, and it shows the human side of Chris," Sweeney said.

Sweeney lives in Northern Virginia with his wife, Lisa, and their two-year-old daughter. They're currently expecting their second child.

Kathleen said Sweeney is most passionate about his growing family.

"His family will always come first," she said.

Watching her son's dreams come true, Kathleen said she's grateful that Sweeney gets to go to work each day and do something that he enjoys.

With artificial intelligence threatening creative jobs and the marketing landscape, Sweeney said the technology can never replace a human being's unique perspective. Art created by individual people will always stand out from generated images and projects.

"Maybe now there's more of an opportunity to stand out rather than people relying on the same tools," he said.

Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.

The Sweeney file

Name: James Sweeney

Age: 33

Hometown: Altoona

Education: Bishop Guilfoyle (2011), bachelor's degree in communications and media studies from Franciscan University (2015)

Family: Wife, Lisa; two-year-old daughter and a second child on the way

Hobbies: Baking, watching television with his wife