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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday February 20, 2009 - 25 Sheridan alumnus up for Oscar Chris Williams, a former Sheridan College animation student, is up for his first Academy Award nomination for Bolt in the Best Animated Feature Film category. Bolt is the first featurelength film directed by Williams, who shares the nomination Chris Williams with co-director Byron Howard. Williams earned a bachelor of fine arts degree at the University of Waterloo before enrolling in Sheridan's animation program. In his second year, he was hired to work at Disney when the studio's recruiters visited Sheridan. While he left three courses short of completing the full program, Williams credits Sheridan with launching him on his animation career. "When I started there, I didn't know much about animation. All I knew is that I loved to draw and create stories," he said. "My respect and love for animation took root at Sheridan. It was an amazing learning experience." Over the course of his 14 years at Disney, Williams has contributed to such films as Mulan, The Emperor's New Groove and Chicken Little. He is the seventh Sheridan alumnus to receive an Academy Award nomination. Past nominees include Steve Williams, James Straus, Michael Thurmeier, Erin Faith Young, and winners Jon Minnis and Eric Armstrong (Best Animated Short Film ­ 1986 and 2003, respectively.). The Academy Awards presentation will take place on Sunday, Feb. 22. Sheridan is worldrenowned for its animation programs, which attract students from around the world.