ARTalum

Community. What is that?

Yeah, I have to admit that my definition of vacation is "Homecoming."
It's once a year. I can always count on a few laughs and a walk down memory lane.

For the fourth year, the art alumni held a silent auction and we came together for a purpose to raise money for art scholarships. Why?

It's more than a tradition, it's a reflection about our experiences as art students and how we walked away from our college years with more than a BA in Fine Art or Graphic Design; we gained an understanding of community, something that is rarely seen in art departments across the country. Why?

Instead of competitive natures driving us towards a grade and status, we supported one another in ways that I will never be able to forget. My peers helped me to discover that my major strength was never my ability to draw--but rather, it is the nature of my heart and zealous ambition that zig-zagged into all corners of my life, which inspired (and continues to inspire) me to live compassionately. Why?

I learned more about the process of art-making through living in a one-of-a-kind art community, than any textbook I ever read (including art history).

I truly pray that the art community I love so very much is still lingering in the hallways that I visit each Homecoming. I also hope that the endowment we are creating as artalum will help other art students understand the beauty of community as we still know it today.

(Lastly, there's nothing like 8+ pizzas, one Robot cake, 2 cats, 12 cherry colas and 15+ friends demolishing the walls of a building and working together to help fulfill a dream for our friends.)