october 2019 newsletter
No Images? Click here ![]() We would like to extend an enthusiastic welcome to our new first-year students and returning peer mentors! We hope that you have made wonderful connections here at Living ArtsEngine and that you continue to enjoy your Michigan experience. Living ArtsEngine has had an exciting semester thus far, with new projects, ideas, and events, filling our community with creativity and innovation. We look forward to seeing the growth of our new community as the year progresses. This newsletter will recap some of the highlights from the beginning of this semester, as well as introduce new and past Living ArtsEngine students. Our newsletter serves as a way to connect our current community with our supporters, and alumni. We hope that you enjoy this insight into our amazing community. ![]() Contents
Important Community DatesSunday, November 3rd Sunday, December 1st Welcome WeekThe kick-off to the fall semester is our favorite time of year! Students moved in during the last week of August and spent time getting to know one another while building the Living ArtsEngine community. We started off with our annual Ice Cream Social, an event that brings all of our first-year students, peer mentors, and RA's together. The next day, we had Q&A session with the peer mentors, explored the Duderstadt Center, and worked in interdisciplinary teams to complete a creative building project.
![]() ![]() Sept. All-Community Meeting![]() ![]() ![]() "Making Meaning from Movement" with Amy ChavasseThe first All-Community Meeting for the fall semester took place on September 15th, led by guest artist Amy Chavasse, Associate Professor of Dance in the School of Music Theatre and Dance. Her workshop, “Making Meaning from Movement” was a great way to start off our All-Community programming for the year. Through individual and group dance activities, our students learned valuable lessons about the way in which the mind, body and senses are utilized in the creative process. Rather than strictly a dance workshop, students explore how movement and performance can feed into creative expression and other ways of thinking. This workshop is always beloved by our students as it addresses an approach to the creative process that most would not have had the opportunity to experience.
Oct. All-Community Meeting"The Great Maker Race" with MakerWorksOur October community meeting featured visitors from Maker Works, a member based workspace in Ann Arbor, to help innovators bring their ideas to life. They presented a workshop called "The Great Maker Race", in which Living ArtsEngine students built small cars out of wood, foam, and other materials with the goal of creating the fastest vehicle. Through iteration, the students learned how to adjust the shape and weight of their cars to affect the speed. This event was an excellent opportunity for our students to work collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams on a hands-on project. We thank Maker Works for taking the time to work with us and look forward to their next visit. ![]() ![]() Alumni Fall SocialOur alumni recently gathered for their annual fall social. Unfortunately, the rainy weather kept their picnic indoors, but they still found ways to bring the fun inside! There were six student years in attendance, with alumni spanning from second-year undergraduate students through graduate students and beyond. It was a great afternoon full of donuts and cider, games, and catching up with each other. We are always happy to see our alumni all together again! ![]() ![]() Meet our RA's![]() ![]() Hi! My name is Mitchell, and I was raised in Byron, Michigan (though I now hail from Lansing,) I’m a senior in Taubman College, majoring in Architecture and minoring in Asian Languages and Cultures (with a Japanese focus). I enjoy traveling, movies, and Nintendo games, musicals, drawing, and photography. When I’m not busy selling my soul to an architecture project, I enjoy putting on showings of movies in the lounge. Hi! My name is Nayri Carman and I am from Birmingham, MI. I am a junior majoring in Chemical Engineering and Mathematical Biology and minoring in Creative Writing. When I was a freshman I was in the Living ArtsEngine program and loved it! Fun Facts: I am 100% Armenian and it is my favorite thing about myself! My favorite movie is Inglorious Basterds 🙂 Hello! I’m Ben, and I’m from Paramus, New Jersey. I was previously a peer mentor and an RA for Living ArtsEngine. I am currently studying Biomedical Engineering, with a concentration in Biochemistry (basically I’m learning how to grow/clone/build medical devices). Outside of class, my hobbies include Dungeons and Dragons, downhill ski racing, and playing video games. Community Member SpotlightsDemetrius Markham - Living Arts AlumStamps School of Art & Design, School of Music, Theatre & Dance, Morgan Elder - Living ArtsEngine First Year StudentSchool of Music, Theatre & Dance, Stamps School of Art & Design
![]() Morgan Elder is a freshman from West Bloomfield, Michigan in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, majoring in Performing Arts Technology. Along with Living ArtsEngine, he is in the Video Game Music Club, Wolverine Soft, Anime Club, and is a part of a few music ensembles. Ultimately, Morgan is interested in a career in video game music. As a prospective student, Morgan became interested in Living ArtsEngine because it “was a smaller group of people to ease into the university and it was focused on developing one's perspective on disciplines. I thought it would be interesting to learn about how different ideas and perspectives can come together.”
Now that he is well into his first semester at Michigan, Morgan has found Living ArtEngine tremendously helpful in his transition to college. Having an immediate community of peers, a mentor, and going to Living ArtsEngine community events has helped him find his place in such a large university. One of the most important parts of Living ArtsEngine for Morgan has been an exposure to a lot of different ways of thinking. Morgan’s experience with Living ArtsEngine workshops, meetings, and activities has helped challenge his thinking, driving him to consider different ways of approaching problems and pushing him out of his comfort zone. As he moves forward in his academic career, he says that he will always remember the importance of challenging yourself to think differently, interacting with those who have different perspectives, and exploring a variety of disciplines. He believes that having learned “how to apply other disciplines and perspectives to what I do in my [Performance Art Technology] major,” will continue to influence his trajectory after he graduates from the Living ArtsEngine program. For prospective students considering Living ArtsEngine Morgan says, “Going to such a new environment… I think that having a pre-established group of people who are all like minded in wanting to meet others of different disciplines and learning about those disciplines and just being a part of that community - I think that is really beneficial.”
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