Semester Reflections

Semester 2

This semester at the University of Maryland was both challenging and fulfilling; I feel as though I have grown a significant amount in my ability to create connections and be creative in Arts Scholars. One type of connection I have developed is with my professors, which will help me now and beyond my college education. I developed a meaningful relationship with the T.A. of my Public Health class by staying after class to discuss our large group project, asking questions often, and speaking in disucssion often. I also communicated with her over email, always using respectful language, thanking her, and letting her know I have enjoyed the class. This connection helped my education because she was willing to discuss outside information with the class, such as the current events in the Public Health field, in addition to in-class topics. This information gave me a well-rounded understanding of how the class topics connected to the real world. Beyond T.A. connections, I have developed a strong one with my Drawing professor, as I am always willing to receive personal feedback from him to improve my learning and artworks. It has been challenging to develop relationships with other professors due to the large class size in Organic Chemistry and Psychology. There are less opportunities to talk with the professor one-on-one. One way I could overcome this is by going to the professor's personal office hours or office more often. I know my Chemistry professor enjoyed having students come to her office to ask her questions; in the future, I should take advantage of these opportunities to develop stronger connections. 

Another kind of connection I have explored this semester is with my peers. An example that comes to mind has been developing a strong friendship and connection with my workshop leader and peer mentor Isabelle. I did this by going above and beyond with participation in the workshop, and always offering to help if she needed it. Another aspect that contributed to our connection was the ice-breakers and group activities we did at the start of every workshop. This helped us all learn more about each other and find relatable topics to discuss while we were working. I felt comfortable with the entire class as a whole. Both of these connections to my peers have helped with my adjustment to college because I was able to ask them questions at any point and get a quick, personalized, reliable answer from someone who had been in college longer than me. I was especially thankful to be able to ask Arts-Scholars-related questions, such as about ArtsFest. This helped me feel less anxious and more prepared to make the most of that opportunity. Overall, being comfortable with my peers made me more motivated to learn, experiment, and grow in my art education because of the positive, inspiring environment created. The greatest obstacle to pursuing these relationships, for me, is balancing school work with time to build connections with my peers. I was often too focused on getting work done to be social or have interpersonal connections, even though having those connections can be equally as valuable to my motivation, well-being, and communication skills. Next year's Arts Scholars can make the most of their connections with peers by being willing to participate in group activities with their full effort and always having a positive outlook in conversations. They should take time out of their college schedules to continue spending time with peers once a connection has been formed in order to receive the benefits.

Continuing on the topic of how positive connections with peers can improve art education, the Arts Scholars community has been great for fostering artistic engagement. ArtsFest is the best example of this. Having a community to share your love of art with, and having an event to celebrate it, motivates artists to put full effort into their work and try to go above and beyond to the benefit of their peers and professors. For me specifically, ArtsFest was extremely inspiring, as I got to see such detailed, creative, and well-researched Capstones and workshops. This inspiration makes me excited to do my own project next year, and gives me a foundation to the assignment so I can start developing my ideas early; this will make my final project more thought-out and complete. I was also motivated to engage with the arts in my own life, and think about how social issues connect to art in the real world. In an art class this year, my professor said something that stuck out to me: "find an art rival". This statement exemplifies one of the benefits of the Arts Scholars community: There are plenty of artists around you to look up to. This motivates you to do challenging things, stay engaged, and push your art to the next level. Friendly competition in this way makes the entire community's art better. However, your "competitiors" are also willing to help with ideas or feedback if needed, which is another benefit. In the future, I would love to continue contributing to the community by becoming a T.A. for an Arts Scholars class. This way, I can be in a new, engaging role and stay in touch with the inspiring people I have met. I also hope to inspire a new generation of Arts Scholars with my teaching!

My understanding of art has been significantly strengthened during my education this year in Arts Scholars because of the meaningful discussions I had with my peers and professors. The Wicked Questions about art made me critically think in a way about art that I had not gotten to do before. These questions, instead of being easily answersable, created debate that improved my understanding of how art connects to social issues and the community. In my own life, seeing ArtsFest and the Wicked art projects makes me more motiavted to try connecting art to social and personal issues  instead of it being just visually impactful. I feel as if I can make a more meaningful difference in the world this way. Future Arts Scholars should be prepared to have their definition of art change and grow as they learn, as they will discover new perspectives. This is a great opportunity to get better at critical thinking and be open to change that can improve an artists's relationship to art. 

The most impactful activities in Arts Scholars were workshops as well as Try-athalons. The workshops, as discussed, gave me connections with my peers that will continue to supplement my education for years to come. They also gave me hands-on experience with a new type fo art that I can translate the skills from to other creations. The Try-athalons were frustrating to fit into my schedule at first, but I ended up appreciating them the most because they forced me to be open to new techniques and unique art forms. I was pushed to experience, for example, a Gamer Symphony Orchestra concert, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It made me want to experiment with musical art in my future. As art has so many types and disciplines, it is important to learn about all of them in order to get a well-rounded understanding, and improve your techniques. Incoming Arts Scholars can get the most out of the experience by, again, always showing up to class ready to participate and learn. Try-athalons or field trips may seem unimportant at first, but they have the strongest effect on your learning, and are enjoyable once you put effort into them. This community is there to help; Arts Scholars should take advantage of this opportunity for both their education and personal lives.