Spanish | Studio Art

SPANISH LESLIE MORALES-NOYOLA

Katie Fox/Old Gold & Black

CHRISTINA DENOVIO

Sports Editor

Leslie Morales-Noyola is a double major in Spanish and political science from Winston-Salem, NC. When she first arrived at Wake Forest her freshman year, Morales-Noyola had no intention of majoring in Spanish and instead just wanted to satisfy the language division requirement by taking a Spanish class.

She soon discovered that her desire to interact with the Hispanic and Latino community would drive her to study Spanish and eventually grow a passion for the language. Morales-Noyola’s interest in studying Spanish at Wake Forest also stemmed from her background, as her family roots are Mexican.

“When I first came to Wake Forest, I really wanted to be an immigration lawyer,” Morales-Noyola said, “I actually have been working in an immigration law firm for the past few years. She continued, “In that field, I interacted with a lot of Spanish speakers, so I thought it was really important for me to really improve that communication that I have with others, especially if I want to help them with their problems.”

Morales-Noyola’s intended career path then shifted, but the importance of Spanish in her life remained.

“I became more interested in immigration policy, but not necessarily being a lawyer,” Morales-Noyola said, “and so I started getting more involved in education policy — specifically bilingual education policy. Another reason why I thought studying Spanish would be really important is because there’s a lot of programs that need to be developed to help heritage speakers like me.”

Over her time at Wake Forest, Spanish developed into a more interesting and exciting topic of study for Morales-Noyola. She discovered that though she came from a family of Spanish speakers, there was still much about the language that she did not know.

“At first, [studying Spanish] was just for me to gain more skills, but now, I’m genuinely interested in the subject. I really like learning more about Spanish beyond just the grammatical rules and everything.”

Morales-Noyola even had the opportunity to share her own culture in the classroom, which she describes as one of her favorite experiences as a Spanish major.

“During the fall of my sophomore year, my professor invited me to do a presentation on my family’s culture back in Mexico,” Morales-Noyola said, “They’re from Guerrero — a really tiny area that they call “La Cosa Chica” (The small thing). They have a really specific culture there. There’s a lot of dances and like, all these traditions that are part of that.”

Morales-Noyola expressed why that day was her favorite in her major over the course of her college experience: “That was a really special moment for me. I got the opportunity to share a part of my culture that a lot of people — even some Latino people — don’t know about the culture.”

Morales-Noyola describes professor Dr. Lauren Miller as an inspiration and mentor during her time at Wake Forest. Miller was particularly impressed with Morales-Noyola’s performance and personality in her classroom.

Miller wrote: “Leslie is extremely reliable, fastidious, talented, and is a beautiful woman, inside and out. I had her in three classes, and her performance was outstanding in all of them.”

Miller observed that Morales-Noyola was always well-prepared and put forth lots of effort and care into every project she took on.

Miller continued: “I’ve really grown to view Leslie as a collaborator, friend, and colleague who I respect. She is a tireless civil servant who will no doubt improve her community through her passion, intelligence, and hard work. Her love for others, especially marginalized populations, is so pure and selfless that she makes me want to be a better person.”

While Morales-Noyola described Miller as an outstanding teacher and role model, Miller explained that the admiration was mutual.

“She is a student who has taught me as much as I have taught her and will surely continue to inspire me,” Miller said.

As Morales-Noyola prepares to graduate, she looks ahead to making a difference in the world. With the help of her Wake Forest education, she strives to help and support the Hispanic community in Winston-Salem and beyond.

STUDIO ART QUYNH NHU-VU

SELINNA TRAN Print Managing Editor

Quynh Nhu-Vu entered Wake Forest knowing that art was a discipline that she wanted to pursue, but it wasn’t exactly easy to translate this passion due in part to her background as a child of immigrant parents.

“Since being a sperm cell, I knew I wanted to draw pictures and make art, but given that I am a child of immigrants, I have always felt pressure from my parents and extended family to view art as a hobby and a side hustle,” Nhu-Vu said. “I remember during my college application times, I was desperate to find a different academic interest … Art always came back to me.”

Nhu-Vu acted on what felt natural to her, and art was what she resonated with. Nhu-Vu draws on her lived experiences and aspects of her identity in the art that she creates.

“Sometimes I like drawing because they’re cool to me, but I [also] feel like everytime anybody draws anything, it has to do with what they’ve lived through — no matter how little,” Nhu-Vu said. “No matter how unintentional or intentional it is, they are telling people about the world that they lived in.”

Currently, Nhu-Vu’s art has shifted from exploring an angsty source of decolonizing herself as she describes it — where she researches and reflects on imperial and cultural influences — to her art reflecting domestic and shared spaces, alongside intimate events of her life.

When reflecting on her time at Wake Forest, Nhu-Vu spoke fondly of the intimacy of the Art Department and the relationships that resulted from that.

“The art department is pretty small and the classes are relatively small, and I like that because your professors — a lot of the time — are more like mentors to you,” said Nhu-Vu.

In particular, Nhu-Vu credited Professor Leigh Ann Hallberg as a source of mentorship and guidance. Nhu-Vu says Hallberg’s classes shifted the way that she approached drawing.

Hallberg expresses similar sentiments towards Nhu-Vu. “I remember meeting Quynh as a first-year and thinking that she was already a very self-contained, interesting and open person,” Hallberg said.

Hallberg continues, “When she told me she was off to Copenhagen, I was disappointed not to be able to work with her in her first year. On her return, she was energized and clearly ready to engage in creating work. Her shift to functioning as an artist came as she committed to spending more concentrated time working. Currently, Quynh is showing in professional venues and her work is getting lots of attention.She will be working with the Mint Museum for an exhibition in the fall. Quynh has the ‘art bug’, i.e. a real love of art, and my hope is that she will continue to direct all her energies toward art.”

During her time at Wake Forest, Nhu-Vu did not always feel comfortable with the environment of the campus community and felt a stronger connection to the Winston-Salem community.

“It wasn’t until last semester that I felt comfortable here — especially coming from the neighborhoods of Charlotte … where it’s really rare to walk into an art space in which white people are the majority,” said Nhu-Vu.

Despite this, Nhu-Vu’s relationship with the academic staff and professors of Wake Forest made her feel a sense of belonging.

“I think what really helped was [having] that relationship with the professors,” Nhu-Vu said, “that’s what made me feel included, knowing that my professors supported my work.”

Looking towards the future, Nhu-Vu’s main point of excitement is the prospect of being an adult with lived experiences — similar to many of the people that she is surrounded by in the art scene.

“I’m excited to be 30,” she said. “A lot of my colleagues and my friends in art are around [that age] and older. The art scene in Charlotte is a lot of people several years deep in their career.” Nhu-Vu hopes to gain the wisdom that she describes her colleagues having and has many shows planned for the next two years with an art residency lined up in Charlotte at Goodyear Arts.