Semester Reflections

Semester 4

My eportfolio demonstrates how I’ve grown throughout my first two years of college: through arts scholars and my other endeavors, my perspectives and values have clearly shifted since I first enrolled at the University. Changes in my work are most noticeable within my TRY-atholons and semester reflections, as they’re the most uniform and measurable mark of my progress. With each TRY-atholon and reflection my work clearly becomes more introspective and thoughtful, moving from surface-level topics to deeper concepts as we spoke more in depth about them in scholars colloquium every semester.

Before Arts Scholars, I didn’t think deeply about how an artist’s lived experience shapes their work– I was able to make surface-level connections about subject matter and desired message, but I didn’t take any extra steps in reflecting on other details that influenced a piece. Activities like group critiques and artist studies helped me develop this skill, as well as speaking with my peers and getting diverse perspectives on different topics. I remember multiple activities in colloquium in which we studied and reflected on pieces as a group, and it really broadened my perspective on the analysis and study of art.

My capstone project involved teaching others much of the subject matter I had been taught throughout my arts scholars experience– and as a result, required a large variety of skills I’d built over the last two years. In particular, public speaking and being comfortable with ‘uncomfortable’ topics was integral to workshop teaching, especially in a workshop that tackled such a serious social issue. Arts scholars’ efforts into expanding our comfort zones was essential and helped me make our classroom into a productive learning environment where everyone felt welcome.

I’ve deepened my talent and interest in crochet and other ‘low-art’ craft mediums that I was already familiar with, and I expanded my abilities to include clay sculpting, pastels, origami, and countless other mediums that I was exposed to throughout the program. Craft & chats, workshops, and colloquium lessons introduced me to a huge range of art forms, some of which I’d have never tried if it werent for scholars. As a whole, the program broadened my horizons and allowed me to find new mediums I’m now passionate about!

I’ve been able to collaborate with others in a multitude of projects throughout the past two years, but the most notable experience that comes to mind is my workshop. Besides just being a co-leader, I also collaborated with each and every one of my students to create a cohesive arts fest display that represented the entire class as a whole. Each student had an interesting, unique perspective and a different skill level in the crochet medium, so it was challenging to get everyone on the same page and create a seamless display while not losing what made everyone’s pieces unique. By speaking individually to every student, Ella and I were able to make everyone happy by displaying their pieces together in a way that everyone was happy with.

Academically, the public speaking and presentation skills I gained as a part of Arts Scholars will benefit me academically, professionally, and personally for the rest of my life. In addition, the teaching skills I gained will benefit me professionally as I go into robotics and engineering instruction in the future. Personally, the biggest value I found was the enrichment in my curriculum and the broadening of my knowledge of the arts as a whole. Now, I see myself making connections in my everyday life with regards to art and design that I would have been blind to otherwise. Overall, I’m extremely grateful for the arts scholars program for giving me the opportunity to meet friends, work on great projects, and help out my local community through social engagement and good. I’ll continue to think on and make connections to what I learned throughout scholars for the rest of my University experience, and hopefully throughout my professional life as well.