MFA grad from China discovers passion for animation as she trusts in God’s provision

From her upbringing in Macau, China, to the Master of Fine Arts program at Liberty University, Heather Birkeland (’22) has kept an open heart to wherever God is leading her.

Born to missionary parents who have served in Macau for the last 40 years (her mother is from Hong Kong and her father is originally from the U.S.), Birkeland initially pursued a future in communications. She competed in speech and poetry contests throughout high school, using her time in front of audiences to tell others about Jesus.

“Those competitions were ways to share about Jesus, and they were also when my classmates were forced to listen to me,” she joked.

But in all seriousness, she said the goal for her life is “to tell others about who our Creator is in a way that you’re still developing relationships and not forcing it down their throats, helping them to see the love of God through their own eyes.”

A win at one speech competition earned her a full-tuition scholarship to study communications at the University of Macau. During her junior year, she spent a semester abroad at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and came across The Bible Project, which tells the stories of Scripture with 2D animation. Birkeland dabbled in animation and digital art classes while at GWU, where she started to feel drawn to art as a way to share her faith.

“I thought (The Bible Project) was a really cool way of telling people about Jesus, including those who had (preconceptions) about Him,” she said. “My whole focus is finding ways to reach my friends who had heard of Jesus but didn’t want anything to do with Him. I had no experience or skills in animation or art, but because I spent that time at GWU, God showed me that I could explore this new opportunity and see where He was leading me.”

Through her older sister, Rachel (’21), who was studying psychology at Liberty residentially, she learned about the Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design.

Attending Liberty would not have been possible, however, had God not stirred the heart of someone Birkeland had only briefly met at the age of 2. After spending around a month with Birkeland’s family, a female missionary from Singapore asked Heather’s parents if she could be her godmother and, unbeknownst to the family until Heather was in high school, began accumulating a college fund for Heather.

Because her undergraduate degree was paid for, Birkeland didn’t think she would use the generous college fund. But when she started considering a graduate art degree, she saw God’s provision. The money was almost exactly enough to cover tuition.

During a time of discouragement about her future, Birkeland read Proverbs 30:8-9, which talks about asking the Lord to provide just enough to honor Him.

“I prayed over that verse again and again, asking God to put me where he wants me,” she said. “God somehow provided this money for me, so I didn’t want to misuse it. My parents never ask for support because they believe that, if God is calling them there, God will provide. I have three siblings and we never knew when we might have to drop out of school, but God provided when we needed it.”

Birkeland came to Liberty in August 2018 to start her MFA and has tailored her projects to 2D animation.

“I love animation because people can sit down and watch a video that has visual and audio storytelling with emotions, and if you have a really strong message, you can use all of those to tell a story in just a few minutes,” she said.

Her thesis project, titled “The Glitch,” is an animated short based on characters in a video game attempting to gather as many points as possible to win before they glitch. It asks the question: “If life were a game, does the person with the most points win in the end?”

“It tries to challenge people by reminding them that life is short and asking them if they are chasing things that have eternal value,” she explained.

Birkeland turned her thesis into a book, “Traversing the Back Door of the Mind.” She also created an illustrated book of her own, “Hollow,” that talks about feeling empty before ultimately finding a “missing piece”— Christ.

She said at first she doubted her abilities in art when she began at Liberty, comparing herself to classmates who had been honing their artistic skills for much longer than she had. But over the Christmas break, the Lord reminded her of His purpose for her.

“I felt Him say, ‘I’m equipping you for this, and I’ve equipped your classmates for this, so stop comparing yourself,’” she said. “I realized that I just had to be faithful in where God had placed me and keep doing my work. I knew I could easily give up, but I had to rely on God and know that I can’t do anything on my own. If He has called you somewhere, he will equip you and give you the ability to accomplish it.”

She said her professors provided encouragement.

“They don’t compare the students; they see what you are working toward and they foster you as much as they can to continue on that path,” she said. “They see your potential and then push you toward achieving it. All of these professors love the Lord and they love their students, and they want to see us do the best we can.”

Since last July, Birkeland has been an online instructor for West Alabama University teaching integrated marketing communication to Chinese-speaking students.

She completed her degree in December and is joining an overseas mission trip for two months before pursuing whatever God leads her to next.

“I don’t know exactly how God wants to use my art, but I see where He’s led me, and I’ve worked to stay open to whatever His call is.”

Birkeland is one of over 23,000 graduates in the Class of 2022, many of whom will be participating in Liberty’s Commencement, May 5-7.