I recently began my third year at Guilford College in pursuit of obtaining degrees in Biology and Health Sciences. I am someone who has immense passion for broadening his horizon, so I decided to enroll in a class of the arts during the three-week session.
For someone who has studied a great deal in the sciences the past two years, I was certainly hesitant about venturing into this new subject area.
After conversing with my adviser, Associate Professor of Biology Christine Stracey, during class registration this past spring, I decided that I would enroll in Art 243: The Political Print with Visiting Assistant Professor of Art Katy Collier.
I honestly did not know what the art of political print would entail nor what would be required of me as someone who has very little experience with art. All I knew was it would satisfy my art requirement. Not to mention, COVID-19 would soon roll around to pose many challenges for students and faculty across the globe.
All summer, I eagerly waited to hear Guilford’s reopening plans, but things appeared grim when the school start date began to approach. Nevertheless, Guilford remained committed to its plans to reopen, and I would soon find myself on campus. I remember feeling a great deal of uncertainty and caution because COVID-19 exists as a threat to the community, and I had never enrolled in a “hybrid” course.
Despite those feelings, I had a memorable experience in Art 243: The Political Print. Katy was extremely professional, organized, and did a remarkable job at creating camaraderie among the class. Throughout the course, Katy effectively communicated and was more than willing to help with anything I was unsure of.
I have found that when the instructor is approachable and fully committed to my learning I am most enthusiastic to be an active participant. This translates to a wealth of knowledge obtained. I really enjoyed learning about the various prints and techniques, the history of political print, and doing a group project at the end.
While Guilford has employed strict rules for the fall semester in an attempt to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Katy did everything and more to utilize the resources available to engage students. Our class would have a Zoom lecture most days of the week, followed by in-class work time in small groups, and some form of written discussion to complete that night.
My favorite part was it was structured in a way where Katy expected a certain amount of a project to be due each day. This helped me effectively learn the techniques, ask questions along the way, and to stay on top of my work. I would definitely recommend this class to my peers. And I will miss the evenings spent working in the Art building and having great conversations with my newly befriended classmates, who were all so welcoming.
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