Semester 4

Arts TRYathlon #1: Choose Your Own Adventure

The Alchemists by UMD Arts for All & Maryland Opera Studio: The Clarice. February 13, 2026

#visualart #music #theater #opera #expression #acting #art

For this event, I went to The Alchemists by the Arts for All and Opera Studio at the Clarice. This event consisted of a story taking place during the Dustbowl and Gold Rush era. It was mainly about challenging fate and how success and diligence often work hand in hand. This show was one of the seven virtues in which it represented diligence. It was in response to an observation of the world and how humans or human nature interacts with this virtue. It was slightly challenging for me to grasp onto the overall concept of the opera. However, I did take note of how the individuals played their characters. Their overall emotion was felt during the entire play. It felt like they were actually experiencing hardship and struggle during that time. Additionally, the music/live pianist created more suspense and tension during the performance. Overall, I thought the performance was great. I really enjoyed how the individuals played their role and how they used emotion to engage with the audience. This was definitely a step out of my comfort zone as I have never been to an opera before. I thought it would have been interesting and enjoyable to watch, and reflecting back, it was. As this play was a combination of different mediums, it overall strengthened my definition of art as the intertwining of mediums help reinforce concepts such as emotion and appeal.

Arts TRYathlon #2: Choose Your Own Adventure

Arts Admitted Student Open House by Arts Scholars, Bel Air Hall. March 7, 2026

#artsscholars #personalexperience #openhouse #community #communityengagement #perspectives

For this event, I went to the Arts Scholar admitted students open house at Bel Air. This event consisted of giving admitted students and their families information about the Art Scholars curriculum and what to expect. We started off with giving a general overview of what we do. There was emphasis on the social issues that we tackle within the arts and the fun ways we explore art. Then we went over the courses that will be taken. We also went over the activities that we have each semester including our TRYathlons and field trips. We lastly had a student perspective and involvement within Arts Scholars and Scholars as a whole briefly. I was able to mention my involvement as a peer mentor and an ambassador. For my responsibilities as a peer mentor, I mentioned that we must check in with mentees regularly and host events. I tried to emphasize that it doesn’t feel like a job since we are trying to help students with their first year in college. For an ambassador, I stated that we must participate in two scholar events. Some examples mentioned included paneling and phone-a-thon’s. I also tried to emphasize that this never feels like a job. The end was time for questions from admitted students and their families. The main question asked was if the work load is heavy. Participants and I heavily emphasized that Arts Scholars does not intend work given to be too much and distracting from career of choice, but to complement it. This event illustrated the ways art can function as a mechanism for building community as it was able to show how Scholars as a whole is all about building a small subset community within a larger one. Overall, I was able to help admitted students lean towards committing to UMD and sharing a friendly environment.

Arts TRYathlon #3: Arts Scholars Event

Leave Your (Book)Mark Maker Mixer by Arts Scholars, Bel Air Hall. March 9, 2026

#art #bookmarks #green #artisticfreedom #patterns

For this event, I was able to go to the Leave Your (Book)Mark maker mixer in Bel Air Hall. We were able to design bookmarks, in which the base was made out of cardboard, to our personal liking. I started off with picking my color palette. I decided to go with different shades of green as green is my favorite color. I wasn’t sure what specific design I wanted to do, so I started with placing beads on it. Then, I was able to find dark green yarn and create a squiggly like design while also placing beads in between the gaps of the yarn. I was able to find decorative tape and rhinestones and placed them on the bookmark. I lastly created a hole in which I found a thinner piece of yarn and created a tassel. This event definitely affirmed my definitions of what counts as art. Reason being, it emphasizes the importance of having your own personal freedom when it comes to design and the choices you make when designing. Overall, I really enjoyed this experience. Even though I wasn’t sure how I wanted to design my bookmark, I was able to design freely and ended up enjoying my outcome.

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