Demystifying RISD for Families

Sonja O’Donnell knows a thing or two about experiential learning. A longtime teacher of literature and humanities, she encourages students to ask open-ended questions and explore possibilities rather than settling on a single answer.

“This type of thinking can take many forms,” she explains. “In my classes, students may learn through writing and discussion, but at RISD it can happen with a sketchpad and a pencil, on a design program or through collaboration with classmates.”

In her new role as chair of the RISD Families Association Leadership Council (FALC), O’Donnell wants to celebrate RISD’s focus on experimentation and critical making and to encourage family members to come along for the ride.

Just as students, accustomed to standardized tests or lecture-heavy classes, may be intimidated by this type of learning, families, perhaps with limited experience with art schools or first-generation students, can be unsure of what success looks like in this setting. “Parents, grandparents, guardians, siblings, aunts and uncles of RISD students: You are an important part of the RISD community,” O'Donnell declares. “As your student creates the future of art and design, you can support them in trying new things and getting messy. You can encourage them to stick with a process even if they are unsure or think they’ll miss the mark. They may miss entirely, and that’s ok.”

One of the barriers for families in offering this type of support, she says, is a lack of knowledge. And even though she has experience in less traditional educational settings, O’Donnell felt that knowledge gap when her son, Julian O’Donnell 22 ID, started at RISD. She learned as much as she could by reading “all the fine print” on RISD’s website, from the student handbook to the course catalog. And when Julian was taking classes from home in the early days of the pandemic, she had a frontrow seat for his questions and artistic processes.

Informed by her own experiences and what she had learned about RISD, O’Donnell was able to encourage her son to take risks and experiment with different approaches. As FALC chair, she hopes to empower all families to do the same.

“We’re all coming from different places,” says O’Donnell, who notes that her father emigrated from war-torn Eastern Europe to the United States as a scholarship student. “But for all of us, it is an honor and an opportunity to shepherd our children— our students—as they grow and learn. We know that students are under a lot of pressure. How can families help to relieve some of that pressure? Through education and communication. Demystifying a RISD education—that’s what I hope to facilitate.”

Along with her husband, Michael O’Donnell P 22, O’Donnell serves on the RISD Fund Steering Committee, an organization of 1877 Society donors who drive philanthropy and volunteerism through peer-to-peer fundraising and event networking. They are also donors to the RISD Scholars fund and have hosted receptions for international families for the past two years (see page 4 for more on RISD Scholars).

The O’Donnell family prioritizes RISD because, she explains, “it is a cultural asset and a special place.”

As a volunteer leader, she hopes to encourage others—not only families, but also students, alumni and community members—to recognize RISD’s contributions to the world and commit what they can to the institution’s future.

“We lose our humanity if we don’t have arts and design and problem-solving skills,” O’Donnell says. “Many schools claim to teach problem solving. But RISD is doing it all the time. Every minute in the studio is a problem-solving minute.”

To learn more about the Families Association contact Sarah Caggiano, executive director of the RISD Fund at scaggian@risd.edu or visit families.risd.edu/families-association.