Art History | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

COOPER SULLIVAN Multimedia Managing Editor

When coming into college, many students are told to pick a profitable major or one that will set them up to easily find a job upon graduation. Sometimes this works out, the match is compatible and the DegreeWorks “What If” section goes untouched.

But sometimes, a lucky student gets to tell their parents during a lull in a winter break dinner conversation that they want to pursue art history. During her time at Wake Forest, Maddy Barnick was very lucky in that regard.

Barnick came into college with the presumption that she was going to go into finance and study in the business school. She would just have to get through the first two years of divisionals. It was her First Year Seminar, “Discovering the Avant-Garde” with Professor Leigh Ann Hallburg, that made Barnick realize there was more to art than what she had previously believed.

“I had no exposure [to art before this],” said the senior from Stratford, CT. “That was the first time that I ever sat in a class and learned about art and its history and certain styles of painting. I never really understood that art had meaning outside of just being an image. So that was the first time that I started to see how dynamic art actually was.”

Barnick would soon start to work at the Hanes Art Gallery and realized that the worlds of business and art do in fact intertwine. The original plan was to continue with business and complete an art history minor, but after enrolling in the Acquavella Business class, which explored the roles that galleries, sellers and artists all play in the global art market, she realized she was going to make the switch.

“I was actually terrified to tell my parents that I wanted to do art history,” Barnick said. “I wasn’t nervous to tell my parents that I didn’t want to do business because there are so many other majors. I was really nervous to have that conversation about what art history would be for me, and how that would be beneficial.”

Barnick realized that she would have to show her parents that there are opportunities postgraduation in order to receive support, so she made it her mission to show that she not only would belong in the art world but that she would thrive in it.

During her junior year, Barnick and 12 other art-loving students were entrusted with $100,000 of university money to purchase as many works as they wished for the Student Union’s Collection of Contemporary Art. This prestigious group is selected every four years and normally would let the students travel to New York City to roam galleries and private collections. Due to COVID-19, the group had to conduct all their research virtually, but Barnick said it was still an amazing experience.

“Once I switched, my parents were like ‘we don’t want you doing anything else,’” Barnick said. “My parents are so behind me now being an art history major. They love it. My sister is in the business school and they get so excited of course but they get so excited about the things that I’m doing because I actually have passion for it.”

After graduation, Barnick will be moving to London to obtain her Master’s degree in Art Business from Sotheby’s through the University of Manchester. She hopes to work in a gallery for a few years and then return to the university system to help inspire other students to pursue their art dreams.

“If you find something you like and if you have passion for it,” Barnick said. “Just go with it. It is scary, especially at a place like Wake Forest, where everyone is so driven and so competitive and so ready to take on the hardest task. But the art department is like a family here and no one is going to let anyone else fail. I’ve been so fortunate for these people.”

Thursday, April 28, 2022 | Page 9 ART HISTORY MADDY BARNICK

Katie Fox/Old Gold & Black

KATIE FOX Photography Editor

Caroline Kernell is a highly-accomplished Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (BMB) major hailing from Houston, TX. With advice from her a cappella director Kate Hanson — and a semester of experience in Dr. Lindsay Comstock-Ferguson’s lab as a research assistant — Kernell declared her major early in the fall of her sophomore year.

“Caroline has been a joy to work with for the last three years as a student in my research lab,” Comstock-Ferguson said. “After joining in her freshman year, she took on a challenging project and learned a lot of experimental techniques quickly.”

While Kernell was always set on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), her divisional requirements proved to be impactful. Inspired by her Christian a cappella group, Minor Variation (MV), and an amazing experience in Dr. Ken Hoglund’s Intro to the Bible (REL 102) course, she added a religion minor.

“For a long time, I [didn’t] like anything else besides STEM, but I really liked my religion classes because they’re interesting in a different way,” Kernell said.

She added that conversations with former MV Chaplain Anna Crumpler solidified her plans, and she was glad she had the opportunity to take so many interesting courses across so many different departments in her four years.

Academics were Kernell’s primary focus, and that focus earned her recognition as a Thomas E. and Ruth Mullen scholar — part of the Carswell Scholarship Program for returning students — as well as membership in Omicron Delta Kappa, the Mortar Board Honors Society, and Phi Beta Kappa. Kernell has also worked as a supplemental instructor and tutor for the Chemistry Department, and as a private tutor in chemistry and biology on and off campus.

Kernell also served as president of Wake Saturdays, a service organization in which students help houseless people downtown. Kernell is also a member of Alpha Delta Pi and was excited to share about her work as Fraternity and Sorority Life ambassador and a GRC (a sorority rush counselor) for two years.

Kernell says the arts have been essential to her life at Wake Forest. An active member of the Wake Forest Chamber Choir for all four years, Kernell performed under Dr. Brian Gorelick before his retirement and helped Dr. Christopher Gilliam navigate his new role after he joined the department in 2020. She is looking forward to the choir’s upcoming tour of the East Coast. Gilliam spoke highly of her character. “Caroline has a joyful spirit and has been the backbone of Chamber Choir for her years at Wake Forest,” said Dr. Gilliam. “She is an exceptionally hard worker, a joy to be around, and a beautiful singer, and she will definitely be missed.”

When asked about her best decision during her time at Wake Forest, Kernell proudly explained that MV was the most important activity to her. She served as the treasurer and business manager for the group her sophomore and junior years, during which time MV released three records between 2018-22. Kernell was featured as a soloist most recently on ‘Run to You’, MV’s newest album, which will be released on April 29. She recalled how grateful she was to travel to Durham and Graham, NC for week-long recording sessions in 2020 and 2022, respectively. “If I had to quit everything else at Wake Forest except one thing, I would stay in MV because MV is the best,” Kernell said.

After forty medical school applications, Kernell will be moving back home to Texas to attend UT Southwestern Medical School to pursue surgery. Before orientation begins in August, Kernell will return to the lab of the postdoctoral researcher she worked for as a freshman.

From the “tomfoolery that ensued in the lobby of Winston” before taking her BIO 114 final to learning about the chiral anatomy of ducks in Organic Chemistry II (CHM 223), Kernell will leave Wake Forest with countless, priceless memories of her best four years thus far.

BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY CAROLINE KERNELL