Fall 2011 Or Bust

In past semesters, I have required students to make and maintain a blog for their final projects. This semester, blogging took a backseat to activism as the students were asked to take to the streets instead of their computers. 

But here we are, a class of 21, whittled down to quite less than that, and we are all a semester stronger and smarter. 

Students, put your names and contact info in the comments below here to stay in touch with one another. Remember this journey; it was important. 

"I'm not who you think I am; I'm who I think you think I am." - Goethe

Quite a Semester

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way.

Spring 2011 has come and gone and with it another group of Freshman Seminar for Success students. We learned a lot this semester - we analyzed propaganda of past and present, strategized for the future, confronted ourselves as our own worst enemies - but mostly we learned about each other.

Thank you all for a great seminar and semester. I will continue to blog in this space  about issues related to academics, art, the powers that be and the world at large. Stay tuned!

The Sweet Spot

Probably the toughest person to convince that she is, truly, an artist, was Natalie. Natalie is a lot more than an artist, though. She is someone who can handle work and school and life and still bring her A game every single day. Natalie is just short a handful of hours for her California hair styling/cosmetology license and she took the time and energy to find out the parameters of the license requirements and make a reasonable action plan for juggling both work and school over the next few semesters.

Artistically, Natalie has a passion for color and the stories that colors tell. She appreciates clean lines and finds beauty in symmetry and simplicity, with splashes of decadence and outrageousness. Check out her blog and final project here.

Bringing a tear to my eye

Camille Santander's blog post evaluating her experience in my class this semester literally made me cry. This has been the best semester yet and I can't wait to see all the amazing things that each and every one of the students from this class go on to do. 

Camille is a student who watches carefully and reserves her judgements until she has enough information. She took quickly to topics like critical thinking and communication skills. She penned out a SMART goal and bam, had completed it within weeks. Camille embodies tenacity and brings a smile to the face of others. Camille doesn't quite fit the cookie cutter molds already available at the Academy of Art - her dream is to be a Public Relations guru in the Fashion Industry, so she's got her work cut out for her as far as getting the most out of her education here. A smattering of classes from Merchandising, Journalism, and Styling, this girl will definitely reach some great heights. Check out her blog and final project here. 

Cook Delicious Food, Do Great Design

Kaicheng goes by the moniker Kitchen. I LOL'd when I read the caption underneath his business card here.

Kai is the experienced street artist among us. He would rather be out painting walls than listening to a lecture, but the thing is, he actually is listening. He never missed a beat on the topics at hand and never wavered in his identity as an artist. He is also the first and only student to ever interrupt me interrupting him and tell me to "Be quiet. I'm not finished." I won't ever forget that.

East Meets West

Vallen is the happy skeptic of our little LA 151 family. She is talented and driven, but at the same time observant and reflective. She upholds personal responsibility but values honesty and accountability. Vallen is both a marriage of differences and a contradiction of ideas. She is, literally, the East Meeting the West. I highly recommend you read her blog(s) and get to know the girl who competes with the big boys.

Above and Beyond

A quick shout out to the students who got their business card prototypes onto paper and into my hand. Thank you for the tactile example of excellent student work!