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Student Spotlight: Isaac Fick '27
The media and communication major has started a new club on campus—the Puppetry Guild
University News | September 24, 2025
When junior Isaac Fick ’27 talks about his passion for puppets, his eyes light up and soon those listening are engaged and thinking about their own experiences with puppets. To him, puppets aren’t just felt, string, or googly eyes. They’re storytellers, entertainers, and even research topics. Last spring, that passion earned him the Hofheimer Library Research Award, and this fall he shared his work during the lunchtime speaker series, Page to Podium, hosted by Hofheimer Library.
A media and communication major from Scottsville, Virginia, Fick is actively engaged on campus. He wears many hats at The Marlin Chronicle—news editor, opinions editor, and one of two managing editors—and still finds time to work on developing a Marlin Popcast, a student-led podcast built on thoughtful conversation.
But his most imaginative project may be the brand-new Puppetry Guild, a club he founded this semester with a mission to create puppets, craft stories, and perform original plays at the end of each semester. The club made its debut at the Student Involvement Fair, and Fick hopes more curious minds will join him for the next meeting on October 7 at 7:15 p.m. in The Lighthouse in Clarke Hall.
His love for puppets began, fittingly, with Jim Henson. “I watched Sesame Street before going to elementary school, I watched Muppet movies shortly after, and my first DVD was Labyrinth,” Fick said. “My dad also introduced me to The Dark Crystal. All of this content was created by Jim Henson, often renowned as the greatest puppet master to ever live.”
Now, Fick isn’t just a fan, he’s a scholar of puppetry. With encouragement from Professor of Religious Studies Terry Lindvall, he has written about puppet humor and is currently studying how puppets portray evil in film. It was his paper on puppet humor that won him the Library Research Award, presented during the Honor’s Convocation last May.
“I realized in college that I can study and write about anything I want in most classes,” he said. “That academic freedom led me to research what I am most interested in, puppets. I want to understand their communicative abilities and artistic intricacies, to hopefully encourage others to see their value.”
When he’s not researching or planning meetings for his guild of future puppet masters, Fick can usually be found in The Marlin Chronicle newsroom—his favorite campus spot. “No matter what assignment I need to get done, this is always a place where I can write an article, edit, and read or write a paper for class,” he said. “It is peaceful, communal, and welcoming.”
As for what’s next, Fick dreams big. He hopes to pursue graduate study, write a book about puppetry, and maybe even create a documentary series. “Perhaps I could combine journalism, puppetry, and unorthodox education,” he said. “With my deep care of the environment and respect for critical thinking, I imagine there is a way to accomplish everything I want and potentially more.”
For now, though, the stage belongs to VWU’s newest guild. With a little imagination and a lot of felt and string, Fick is proving that the power of puppets can inspire, entertain, and maybe even teach us all to see the world with more introspection, humor, and creativity.