Semester Reflections

Semester 2

This semester in Arts Scholars was super fun and engaging. Overall, I feel like the activities we did helped me connect with fellow students and gave me an excuse to create art amid a STEM-heavy schedule. Outside of the program, I’ve cultivated valuable relationships with students and professors in my major.

The Arts Scholars program has given me a chance to discuss and work with like-minded individuals throughout this semester especially. Being a part of a workshop was a great opportunity to connect with both freshmen and sophomores in the program, and everyone had great insights on the work we were doing. Towards the end of the semester, everyone was comfortable with each other, and we could talk and ask each other questions freely. Additionally, I got to talk with some of the sophomores who did really interesting capstone projects, like my peer mentor.

Outside of class, I hang out with people who I met through this program and in the dorm, so I’m really grateful for the sense of belonging and community Arts Scholars has provided me with. On the other hand it’s a bit difficult to find time to connect with people from my high school because of busy schedules and new friends, but I’ve tried my best to preserve these friendships, whether they’re on campus or at different colleges.

I’ve also made meaningful connections with professors and other students in an academic sense. In my major, I’ve connected with my advisor who was also a professor for one of the classes I took first semester. She is the nicest and most supportive person ever, along with the other people in my major. As an Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences major, there aren’t many of us, but we’re still a tight-knit and supportive community. I’ve even connected with some seniors and grad students in the department, as well as attended presentations from alumni about future careers.

Like I said before, this program has helped me foster a supportive and welcoming community. I think it’s helpful to be forced into close proximity with people to form lasting relationships, which is why the workshops work so well to get people talking with each other. Art Scholars has also allowed me to view and participate in art related activities in the community surrounding College Park, like with service day and our field trips. It’s nice to be able to get involved and give back to the communities around us. In the future, I’m thinking about volunteering more for art and environmental related causes.

The scrapbooking workshop I was in second semester really helped me to rekindle an old hobby. I used to pass a scrapbook back and forth with a friend, and that eventually turned into us being pen pals when she moved to live at Brown. Unfortunately, we were both so busy that the letters started tapering off, but this workshop gave me the opportunity to start scrapbooking and junk journaling again. It was super interesting to see all the different techniques and styles people used in their pieces, and the warm up activities like timed spreads and limited materials really helped me stretch my creativity. Art has always been a huge part of my life, but now that I’m in college for a STEM major rather than art, I find that it's really nice to be involved in something artistic. Being in Art Scholars keeps me accountable and sort of forces me to stay creative in a way. It’s also nice to have a break from all the math and science classes I’m taking to do what I do best - just relaxing and creating something.

Overall, I found that the workshop I was in and the strong community of creative individuals it created was the most impactful thing to me in Art Scholars this semester. In the beginning, it was hard to talk to others since lecture was so large, but now that the community has been narrowed down a bit more, I’ve found that it’s a lot easier to make meaningful connections with others. All in all, this year in Art Scholars has helped me grow and develop my artistic abilities as well as my social skills and confidence in my work. I’m thankful for the wonderful communities that this program and my major have allowed me to cultivate, and I’m looking forward to meeting and working with more people in the future!