april 2017 newsletter
![]() As the Winter semester comes to a close, Living Arts is excited to present an update on how our community has been encouraging and fostering an interdisciplinary approach to creative pursuits! This newsletter will recap some of the exciting activities we’ve had in the past few months and will provide insight into thought processes of our current and former students and faculty/staff that assist with our program. This newsletter serves as the medium through which you, our members and supporters, can gain insight into our wonderful community. ![]() Living Arts SymposiumWe are incredibly proud of the work our students have done this semester. The collaborative creative projects, which were displayed in the Duderstadt Art Gallery for the past two weeks, truly pushed the bounds of interdisciplinary creative works and highlighted important elements of the University's Bicentennial. Thank You to our Resident Advisors (RAs)![]() “As an RA for the Living Arts community, I've had the pleasure to get to know some fantastic and creative individuals. The most memorable part of my job has been spending time with and bouncing ideas off the members in the community. I believe engineering is a heavily bounded creative design process, where inspiration can be drawn from just about anything. Though I'm not sure I could track all the origins of specific lines of thought in solutions I've developed in my coursework, I do believe that the sights and sounds that have surrounded me in the Living Arts community have had influence. The creative process is something I recognize that will be a part of my career and I'm glad that I've had the opportunity to develop it with Living Arts. Upon graduation, I will be moving to Arizona to work on the guidance navigation and control of rockets. In 5th grade I dreamt of designing and building rockets for my career and it has been a goal I've been working towards ever since.” ![]() “The most memorable part of my time as an RA was the "Creativity Telephone" challenge that the RA's put on. It was exciting seeing people think about the creative process in a new way and the many, many jokes that came out of it! The most challenging part of being an RA for Living Arts was to try to not live in the past. Since I've been so involved in Living Arts throughout my four years here, sometimes I felt like I dwelled too much in my memory of Living Arts as it has been and not thinking about the future of Living Arts. My goal is to do something creative every day of my life. There's so much to learn! I am applying to artist residencies and currently looking to tour my current solo performance work in addition to making new work. In the long run, I hope to open a creative community for emerging artists that combines my experience with Living Arts and my experience living in co-operative houses.” ![]() "I use my knowledge of the creative process daily both as a content creator in the music field and as a solutions architect as a computer engineer. Being able to come at problems from multiple angles allows me to generate solutions that I would not have considered before that are usually more effective. The creative process knowledge from Living Arts also helps me get around creative blocks I have because of how many methods and mediums Living Arts has exposed me to. I know that even if I get caught up in one medium of creativity, I can always turn to another to expand my outlook on a problem or project. These skills are extremely valuable to any design or production team and I'm grateful that Living Arts has given me so much experience in creativity so that I can contribute in new ways to the projects that I am involved in. So far I feel that I've been a successful RA in that I've helped build the community, help where needed, and insure an inclusive environment in my hall, and I look forward to returning for another year!" Thank You Peer MentorsThis year, our Peer Mentors have done an excellent job of working with the incoming students to help improve the college experience. We are sad to see this group of Peer Mentors leave, but we know that they have done an excellent job of helping the incoming Peer Mentors prepare for the year ahead! We wish all of our Peer Mentors the best in their future endeavors! Samantha Beauchamp, Engineering Mitchell Curtiss, Architecture Sara Eskandari, Art & Desgin Gladys Gonzalez, LS&A Amandha Goriparthi, Art & Desgin Srishti Gupta, Art & Desgin Alex Holland, Engineering Kevin Yiwei Huang, Engineering Daniel Korth, Music Performance/L S & A Alexander Kraft, Engineering Alexander Maynard, Engin/Engineering Physics Bailey McMillian, STMD/Theatre Design&Production Zachary Mused, Engineering Alexander Philpott, Engineering Sophie Raymer, STMD/Theatre Design&Production Stephanie Sim, Art & Desgin Caroline-Michele Uy, Theater/Engineering Natan Zamansky, Theater/LS&A Clayton Zimmerman, LS&A SpotlightsRaymond SuryaLiving Arts First Year MemberRaymond Surya, a first year engineering student, is originally from Holland, Michigan. 1. What attracted you most to Living Arts? "When I saw the phrase learning community, I was attracted -- specifically the work 'community.' Going to a big school, a community is important, so the word “community” in the email I received was the biggest reason I decided to open the email and eventually join." 2. What is your favorite part about being in Living Arts? “I have met some really, really, really cool people. Living Arts has exposed a side of me that I would not have been otherwise exposed to. I am trying to be an engineer here, and all of these people are drawing around me, and I am able to record sounds and make music, and to tape card board to myself, or take notes on how I interact with space. It is something you wouldn’t normally do. Also, you look around, and your friends are doing all of these really cool things. If I had gone in as a freshman without Living Arts, I don’t know if I would have ever walked into Stamps. I don’t know if I would have gone to the video studio or seen an InterArts performance. There are a lot of things that Living Arts brings to your attention." ![]()
3. What is your biggest "takeaway" from your time in Living Arts? “Living Arts helped me realize that I can be artsy a little bit, and I shouldn’t limit myself to just engineering. I can market myself as an engineer, an artist, an activist, and an educator, all of the above type of person. I don't need to be only one thing. I can be many." 3. What would you say to a prospective student who is considering Living Arts? "When you first go to college and meet people in your hall, you will be friends with similar people, lest you force yourself into a community whose goal is to be interdisciplinary. It is a great thing to interact with others, and LA provides this community and other resources that will help you in your transition to college. It truly is a Small Community with Big ID |