CFA | Imprinted by Sean Eckhardt

The College of Communication and Fine Arts at Loyola Marymount University presents

Art History........................................................................4 Arts Education................................................................. 8 Clinical Art Therapy........................................................10 Communication Studies.................................................12 Dance.............................................................................14 Music..............................................................................16 Studio Arts......................................................................18 ceramics drawing graphic design multimedia arts painting photography printmaking sculpture Theatre Arts....................................................................20 The College of Communication and Fine Arts brings together the diverse interests of students in communication studies, theatre, dance, music, studio arts, art history, and clinical art therapy. The college explores classical and emerging theories in the context of the LMU mission — the encouragement of learning, the education of the whole person and the service of faith and promotion of justice. art director Sean Eckhardt ‘16 staff advisor Nicole Murph ‘04 faculty advisor Garland Kirkpatrick interviews by Sean Eckhardt ‘16 Emma Ayau ‘16 concept by Sean Eckhardt ‘16 Emma Ayau ‘16

The Department of Art and Art History at Loyola Marymount University commissioned this project in order to highlight the creative, dynamic students who make the College of Communication and Fine Arts what it is. Our students are passionate in what they do, and they find deeper meaning in their studies, and how they shape his or her role in the world. Already, on this campus, they have made an imprint, as we know they will continue to do as they embark on their careers in their chosen vocations. Their stories encourage us to leave our own mark. These imprints are explored through the images in this booklet, which are also on display at the entrance to the Thomas P. Kelly Student Art Gallery located on the LMU Campus. They consist of each individual’s digitally captured fingerprint, portrait, and interview. We would like to thank our staff advisor Nicole Murph ‘04 and faculty advisor Garland Kirkpatrick. We are grateful for their faith in the concept, and their desire to tell the stories of our classmates. Without them, this project would not have been possible. Sincerely, Sean Eckhardt ‘16 Art Director

bo hamby art history â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;16

Why Art History? When I came to LMU I was a business major. My first semester was spent taking BADM classes, and regular core classes. I was not interested in the business management classes at all. There were a huge amount of students in the classes, and I didn’t feel like I was getting anywhere. I had never taken an Art History class before, but for some reason I felt the need to enroll in Art History because I’ve enjoyed being around art but I’ve never been good at creating it so I figured I would give it a shot. My first class was with [Dr. Damon] Willick, his modernism class, and I fell in love with it and I stuck around. Is there a certain art that you’re attracted to? A period that you really like? I was so lucky to have taken Modernism first, because that was really everything, every class I came out and I felt inspired to do something. I take photographs so either with photography or just how I’m looking at everyday. Part of that is from the crazy surrealists to contemporary art, things that are happening now in LA. The cliché with Modernism is that a lot of people don’t respect it because it doesn’t look technically perfect. It’s not the technique or the painting, it’s the idea of it. If you go to a museum and you see a Rothko, and you see a big red square and people say, oh I could have done that, but that’s not the point of it. So with older classical medieval, that kind of thing...there’s a lot to grasp and understand, but it’s almost too black and white. There’s little room for interpretation. You said you shoot photographs, do you consider yourself an artist? Yes, I have converted one of my closets into a dark room at home and so I shoot a lot of film and I do some street photography. I also do some commissioned shoots and wedding shoots and things like that. I still develop and print my own photos, and I work as a photographer for LMU Magazine. I have my hands into photography; I like to consider myself an artist at times. How do you think studying Art History influences your art? I think Art History gives me new ideas for projects and new ways of looking at things. I took an art class, the drawing and printmaking class, and at the time I was taking a History of Graphic Design class. There was this old French wine ad that I really enjoyed. There were three blocks, and its like a comic almost. In the first one he’s pouring the wine, and only a third of his body is colored; the second one he’s bringing the wine up and it’s two thirds of the way colored; and in the last one he’s drank the whole bottle and his whole body is in color. I really enjoyed that and I brought that same structure for my final piece for that class. I kind of ripped that off but that’s what you’re supposed to do.

was talking about something that I actually understood and was interested in. That was very tough and critical in an academic sense. You really had to work with the material and understand it, re-purpose it in a way that made it your own. Seeing that and the way the way he talked about artists, the way he talked about art, it was fun, and we just had these great conversations. That was my second semester of my freshman year. I’ve taken every class he’s taught since, my thesis class was with him, I took it early so I could take it with him, and now I’m working as his Research Assistant. He’s probably why I’m an Art History major. How do you introduce someone to modern art? If you’re at LMU, take the Modernism class. Then It’s really just a matter of being open to it. But if you open yourself up to the idea of what those artists were going through at that time, and try and see that in their work. It’s very similar to how you look at classical, sometimes you see a black square and it doesn’t look like much but really there’s a whole world of Russian supremacism. It’s amazing what can be captured in something seemingly so crude or amateur. It’s Art History. It’s not visual analysis; it’s all about the social context, what’s going on at the time like Malevich, Black Square, 1920s Russia. Revolution. All of this, not only revolution in society but within the arts and how things are constructed. Graphic Design was huge, really jagged lines going on that…I can’t even remember the question now, the context. All of that going on, on a blank white canvas with a black square in the middle. When you see that in a museum, you scoff, you’re like “Come on, it’s a black square, if I had a ruler, black paint, and a white canvas, I can do that.” There’s some really great students, friends of mine. The student art exhibition has been really good, where students show their work. Most of the classes I take, if it’s just Art History majors, there’s like eight to ten of us which is fun, but you don’t get a lot of students coming in from Graphic Design or Communication and if they do, it’s different. At the same time, I’m friends with other photographers. There are a lot of people here with good ideas, and if you’re willing to put yourself out there and take a weird step. Some people have weird ideas and they’ll need some help that maybe doesn’t seem like the best thing to do. Sometimes it’ll fail. Sometimes it’ll work. That’s how good art is made, and it’s how good friendships are made.

What made your introduction to Art History stick? [Dr.] Damon Willick. As soon as he started the class, I felt like we were on the same wavelength. It finally felt like someone

emma trevarthen art history â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;16

Why Art History? I was actually a bio major, and I’m a transfer from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. My second semester I hated school so I studied abroad in Florence, Italy, and I’ve painted my whole life and I’ve been involved with art my entire life, but I never saw it as a major or career, I just saw it as a hobby. But I took Art History courses again and I just fell in love with it. It’s something I’m really passionate about, and I love traveling, so it’s just a way for me to travel and also study something I really like. What was Italy like? I went my Freshman year, so I was a little young. I have a twin sister, so it was my first time away from my family in Wisconsin, but I decided to go farther and I went to Italy for four months. I took a life drawing class, an Art History class of Italian Renaissance. I took a weaving class, so I got to work with Italian looms, and I took Italian so we were really immersed in the culture, and we lived in apartments so it was just an amazing experience. It gave me the wanderlust bug so now I just want to travel and live abroad. I would love to live in London, maybe go to school in Scotland or London. I know the University of Edinburgh has a great Art History program. What do you like about Art History? What do you see yourself doing with it? I feel like people look at me when I say I’m an Art History major because I don’t think people understand what you can do with Art History. To me it’s cultural, almost psychological and sociological because you’re learning about these past cultures, what created the art, and all of this past influence so it’s very anthropological in a way. I don’t know what I want to do, I’m still exploring my options. I’d sort of like to work for Christies or Sothebys, the auction houses, or maybe if I really want to get a PhD, maybe go into Curatorial Studies, but that’s a ways down the road. What do you think art says about a culture? A lot. I feel like it doesn’t necessarily define a culture, but it lends historical perspective, a visual perspective that you don’t get through readings or written scholarship. I feel like without art, there really isn’t culture. I feel like it creates the culture. Is there a period that speaks to you? Since I’m a French Minor, I love 19th century Impressionism. I also love Italian Renaissance because I’ve spent so much time there.

What do you hope to accomplish with the rest of your time? I think Art History is a smaller program, so it would be great to get the word out that it’s a great program and you can actually do things with Art History. I feel like a lot of people have a negative perception of what Art History is as a career option. There are a lot of options out there. It would be nice to get those options out and influence somebody younger who’s trying to figure out what they want to do — maybe it’ll be Art History, maybe something else, but it’d be nice to influence them. How has your own art inspired your choice of major? I’ve been involved with art since grade school, and through high school where I went all the way to AP Art, but it was always just a hobby like I said. I love painting, it’s very therapeutic, and I think for me it’s a way to connect with the art. You can study Art History but that doesn’t mean that you understand the actual process of making the art. That helps in my studies because I understand the actual process of making the art, which says a lot about the artist in general. Since it’s so small, everyone knows each other, and I feel like the professors actually know who I am which is really nice because you walk around and you don’t feel so lost. I’ve talked to [Dr.] Damon Wilick and [Dr.] Amanda Herring about grad school and they were all so supportive, and I love hearing their opinions on things because they’ve all been it, so it’s nice being able to get anyone’s opinion, pick anyone’s brain. They’re all very welcoming and they’re for you. How have your travels influenced your major choice? I think it’s made me appreciate art in an entirely different way. You can see it in a class, but seeing it in person is totally different. Michaelangelo’s David, I remember when I saw it my heart skipped a beat. I never thought I would feel that way about art, but it’s just so big, and you hear so much about it and you just see it it’s amazing. What mark do you hope to leave here at LMU after you’re gone? I really want to finish strong for myself and do well in that way and maybe by being so hard working and doing well it could influence others, leaving a good impression.

What’s your most vivid memory from your major? I went on the Rome program last summer for two weeks for early Medieval Christianity and Art in Rome, so I went with Dr. [Kirstin] Noreen, the head of the program. I’ve taken a lot of her classes and I’ve done research for her, and she’s been a great mentor for me. That experience was amazing. We were there for two weeks and it was very intense, and we did a lot, but you learn so much and we were exposed to so much that it was worth it.

aracelicampos campos araceli arts education â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;16 arts education â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;16

Why Arts Education? I came here as a Studio Arts major, and in one of my drawing classes someone was talking about ARTsmart, and I loved working with the kids and being able to give them that confidence that they can draw because there’s this stigma, “Oh, I can’t draw,” or like the “starving artist” stigma. So working with kids, showing that it is possible, that this could be their future is really empowering and empowers them too. How did you figure out that Arts Education was what you wanted to do? I was always creative, always making stuff, and then I did more research and I realized I could become an art teacher. I was inspired by my high school art teacher because I never had formal art education in elementary school and I only had one class in high school, which I thought was messed up. I wanted to try and make sure that everybody could express themselves creatively and have that option. What was your teacher like? He was awesome, he had a really loose classroom, he played reggae in the back while we worked. We worked in groups most of the time so we would talk to our friends and do projects it was really loose. It felt like a safe environment where I could explore and try different things. What years do you want to teach? I want to teach high school, but while I’m teaching high school I’d like to come back and do a Masters’ in early childhood education, so I can do art with all ages from simple color mixing in pre-k to complex projects in high school. I’m planning on doing that at LMU, I’m a senior now, applying for next year.

What are your goals for your senior year? Right now just surviving, my schedule is really hectic and school’s getting harder now. Hopefully staying on track and continuing and coming back for the Masters’ next year. The reason I want to get my Masters’ is because children should know from a young age that art is a possibility, it’s a form of expression and communication. When I was growing up it felt like it was just math, science, very rigid, no room for creativity. Having kids doing art from a young age would open their minds to different things, and collaborating with other people, thinking critically, visual literacy, it’s amazing what art can do. What’s your dream job after college? Realistically I’d work at a children’s center and do art and do art with high school students, but pretty much anywhere I can be with kids and make art. How has the Art Department helped you in achieving your goals? I feel like having Terry Lenihan as my counselor has really helped me because she’s given me so many opportunities. She gave me the opportunity to teach a unit that I designed in her class to ARTsmart kids, and I was able to go to Sacramento and speak at a Common Core conference. It was exciting. I got to talk about my Arts Education experience, and what I want to do as a teacher in the future. What mark do you hope to leave at LMU after your gone? Just reminding people that Art Education does matter. It’s not just arts and crafts; you can talk about kids’ deep issues, social issues going on today. They’re so capable, and so receptive, and they can communicate that through their art.

What is your most significant memory of your major at LMU? I think of when I got to teach one of the units I designed in my Art Education class on homeless understanding, and I got to work with the kids in ARTsmart with it and we created these small figurines of homeless men and women, but we had to make them blend in with a background of the city. It was really amazing what the kids came up with. One little girl made the background bricks, and made the people red and white just blending into the background. They had to do research and they studied a statistic on homelessness, and they included it on the back of their artwork. They named their person and they applied the statistic to them. It was amazing that they were so open to talking about homelessness and what their original ideas were, and what they were after. How old were the kids? It was a mixed aged group, so middle school, two elementary kids, and one eighth grader. What inspires you? The kids, seeing their enthusiasm in the art they make and just working together with them, they’re what gives me such enthusiasm about doing ARTsmart, doing Arts Education.

wren peña

clinical art therapy ‘16

Where did you go to undergrad? I went to University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Why LMU? I studied art and for a long time I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I got my MFA at the Academy of Art in Illustration in San Francisco and moved down to LA to help take care of a grandparent who had Dementia. In that process, looking for ways to spend time with him and get him engaged, I stumbled upon the Art Therapy program at LMU. I was inspired to do it because I was taking care of him. I was a live in caregiver, so at times I was really desperate to find ways to get him engaged, so I thought, why not use what I’m good at. I’ve been an art teacher before, and so I thought why not just try it, and it was the only activity that he could do at that stage of his illness where he could be stationary for two hours, and be engaged. What was getting your MFA like? It was a very different experience, I went to a liberal arts college for undergrad so this was very, felt kind of commercial. My Mom’s family is originally from California, so San Francisco had been a dream location. It was a great city, I wasn’t in love with the program, but it’s how I found my husband so that’s a big price ticket, but it worked out. What has your experience been like at LMU? I love it. I’m in the second year of a two-year program, and it’s taken me a long time to figure out what I wanted to do. This is ten years since I graduated from college this year so it’s been a winding road to figure out how I can put all of my interests together. This program is perfectly suited for that. What is your most significant memory from your time at LMU? I did my interview for LMU a few days before my grandfather passed away. This past February, our class fell on the same day. The faculty member I had interviewed with was teaching a class and that day I went up and told her, and then shared also that he had passed away a couple days after our interview. I felt really connected to her, and so we just had a moment. We shared and connected, we hadn’t spoken about it, but she what that experience meant and how it shaped my coming here, so she’s very inspirational. What inspires you? Painting inspires me. Going on walks, running, autumn, this program inspires me, actually doing art therapy with clients and having that human connection and, sometimes when I feel like therapy is really working I get goosebumps. That inspires me to continue…I’m getting goosebumps right now just talking about it. What do you like to do when your not working or in class? I like to spend time with my dog, take her on walks, we run; she’s a big goofball. It’s hard to think right now because all of my hours are consumed, if I’m not at work or school I’m commuting, but I do like drawing, I love gardening, that’s

something I found when I moved here with my grandpa. We had a backyard full of fruit trees so I find a lot of peace. I never thought I’d get into that, I found it really boring growing up, but it’s feels very cathartic. Being outside, finding different ways to do that. In San Francisco you couldn’t grow basil to save your life. I’m going on a research trip in partnership with Art Therapy students and Turn Around Arts, which is an organization that targets the lowest performing schools and bring art into the schools, and they find different ways to do that. We’re going up to Northern California next week, and the Arts Making event is informed by Art Therapy, but it’s not Art Therapy. I’m really interested in this role that’s informed by Arts Education, Art Therapy, social action, and I don’t totally know what that looks like in terms of a full time job yet, but I see Jessica Bianchi doing it. She’s involved in Art Therapy, in Arts Education, and now the social action piece. What do you hope to accomplish this year at LMU? To graduate on time, we have our research paper, which is a huge component of this year, and so at least from now until the end of the year, we have to get our IRB and do a focus group after the trip to tease out, “What did you feel that your role was? What do you think you drew from your experiences as an art therapist and an art educator?” Teasing that out, developing some common themes, which feels like a big undertaking. Putting on a research paper feels unknown but doable. Just kind of feeling like I’ve made my mark somehow in the Department. I feel like it’s kind of happening right now. I work for the Housing Authority in Long Beach; my supervisor oversees all of these different sites. One of them is a site for seniors, they’ve been relocated because of a flood, and they need people to come in. Our Department has a clinic without walls, going into the community and providing services, so I made the connection between what was happening at the site and brought it to the attention of the clinic. My practicum last semester was associated with the clinic, so I’d like to continue with them after I graduate. How has the Department helped you in achieving your goals? I think they’re very supportive in what we want to undertake. They know a lot about us, and a huge part of the program is really us understanding who we are, because we can’t help others without help ourselves and our strengths and our weaknesses. We really highlight that first semester. I think the faculty knows a lot about us, we had to write a fifteen page autobiography to get into the program, your whole narrative is there. I think just her, that faculty member I had that moment with, just knowing that about me and knowing that experience and weaving that sensitivity into how she aproaches me as a student is something really important that you don’t always get.

caeli koizumi dance â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;18

Why Dance? I was sitting at dinner with my parents because my sister is five years older and she left for college and my mom was like “ok, you’re a sophomore, what do you want to do?” I said I wanted to go to school, I didn’t want to work right after high school. She asked what major I would want, and I was like well, I’m thinking English, and she was like, “Why?” I stared at her and I was like “umm…” and she says “Caeli, what do you like to do?” I like to dance. I love to dance, that’s what I want. She said, “Why don’t you major in Dance? You don’t have to know what you want to do with it, but it’s something you love so why not pursue it?” So then I got on Google and I looked up schools that offered Dance in California, because I like the weather, so I chose to major in Dance. How did you get into it originally? I actually started dancing and training in a studio a lot later in life then most dancers do. I started when I was 13, but I know girls who have been doing it since they were three or four. I started dancing musical theatre when I was nine, but I did not like structure at all. My friend took me to a “bring your friend to ballet day” and she told me to try it and that it would be fun. So I went and I fell in love with it, it was hard and I couldn’t get the steps. It was the most simple waltz step you could ever do, and I did not understand it, and I said “I have to come back now.” I’ve been dancing ever since.

it. Ever since then…I don’t have as much confidence when I do modern or jazz, because that’s not what I’ve studied, I’ve studied ballet, and so I kept trying, getting stronger. And then this year, our modern teacher has us do this thing where she says your partner will watch you and see if you’re applying the elements we’re talking about, and my partner who was a freshman last year with me said “You’ve changed so much, I can see how much more confident you are, you give into the movement more freely.” I think from that moment on, I started to challenge myself more. Do you have a dream job in mind? This summer I got the opportunity to teach dance at orphanages in Panama. I’m the president of Movement of Change, the organization I went with and we have a student chapter on campus now. Ideally, I would love to teach dance to children in need, be it economically, socially, if they have special needs. I love working with kids, I love the challenge of it. I definitely want to teach dance.

You’ve talked about your mom, has there been anyone else that has inspired the choice? My sister, when she was fifteen, she was a competitive soccer player. She was a really good, aggressive player, but she’s smaller than I am. When she was a fifteen, she went up to go get the ball from a girl who was a lot bigger than her, and the girl hit her in the eye with her elbow, and my sister’s retina detached. She had four major eye surgeries, and she’s blind in her right eye. She’s incredible, she made it through, she’s in school getting her MFA in Stage Management right now, but she’s not allowed to play contact sports anymore. Her life had to completely change so then that’s when she got into musical theatre. I’ve had nothing like that, so why can’t I do it? Getting into dance really had to do with my director and the choreographers that I dealt with. My director never went to college, but she’s brilliant.

Not only does dance help you with physical abilities — you’re more athletic, but it doesn’t have a lot of wear and tear on your body depending on the degree of what you want to do. Of course ballet dancers we have injuries all the time, but there’s creative movement, you can do whatever you want or a stretching movement, it just feels good. It’s all about feeling, and I believe strongly that dance is for everyone. It brings me joy, and when you’re happy you do a little happy dance, or when you’re sad, you listen to sad music and move with it. Everything we do draws from movement. Even saying hello to someone is a movement. I think that dance gives people the opportunity to be who they are in their normal daily life — it just happens to be dance, that’s what you’re calling it. So I think that dance will help children develop mentally, developing combinations, principles of movement, applying that to where they are. You can play and learn at the same time when you’re dancing. I want to develop my skills as a teacher, as a dance educator, so I’m taking a class now that’s Creative Dance for Children where we’re learning lesson planning, classroom management. I’m also taking a class that’s Dance as Social Action, so we’re volunteering with the YMCA after school to teach dance there. All of these opportunities that LMU offers will help me develop my expertise and experience in the field, which will prepare me for life after school.

What’s the most memorable event, person or class relating to your major? I think it was at the beginning of my freshman year, first week of school. The second week we had to audition for the faculty concert and I was terrified. I do not do well in auditions. I knew one of them was hip-hop and I promise you that hip-hop does not go well with this body. Does not work at all. My Chair was like “You know what, it’s ok, you don’t have to do any of the dances, but I want you to audition. I just want you to do it, it’ll be fine, you don’t have to be in any of the pieces but if any of the choreographers really love you, then that’s great, but you don’t have to be in the concert if it’s too much for you.” So I did the audition, and it was fine! I got it together; I made it up and got through

How has your Department helped you in achieving your goals? The Department offers really good courses. My Chair has also been really supportive when I come to him with any ideas. They offered me the opportunity to volunteer at the YMCA and then we have research opportunities. I’m also in the Honors Program, and so we have classes on research and exhibitions. They’re really helping me to further my pathway in this field – I want to learn more, and they’re making me do that. I have to develop as a dancer, I have to understand important technique, or how mathematics moved in Jazz, I have to know dance history, as well as how to apply that to my own movement. It’s a really holistic experience for a dancer.

brooke standring communication studies â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;16

Why Communication Studies? I wasn’t sure at first, going into freshman year just because I had no idea what I wanted to do after college, but I feel like a lot of people would describe me someone that is a good communicator. In high school I was captain for a lot of the teams that I played on. I really like communication and I really wanted to meet a lot of people in whatever I did and I still do. So I thought Communication was the best route for me and fit my personality the best because everyone’s so friendly. And being a senior too, just looking back and all the professors that I had and all the people that are also Communication majors, I just felt like I really fit in, so I’m glad that I chose it. What makes a good communicator? Somebody that uses eye contact when they’re talking. Good communication comes from when you’re speaking from the heart, not just babbling on about something they don’t care about. They care how people respond to what they say and if they don’t get the response that they want then they’ll try another route to get their message across. They are creative about way that they speak and the rhetoric that they choose. What is Communication to you? Communication to me is looking past the surface level of a relationship with somebody else or it could be communication with a whole audience. It doesn’t have to be with just one other individual. I think that it’s getting to the deeper meaning of something. It helps you develop the person that you are in the way you communicate too because it’s different for everyone. Everyone communicates differently with the tone of voice and the ideas that they have. It allows you to get in touch of who you really are. Are there different types of communicators? What type are you? I think I’m better with a smaller group of people. I think I could grow to become a better public speaker, but I think it would take a lot more practice and getting up in front of an audience to deliver a message. But I would definitely say I’m a more small group communicator. But sorority events, I’m starting the cheers and stuff, but that’s a whole different message. What’s your most vivid memory of something from class that stuck with you? Or a defining moment in your studies? One of the professors I had, I went to his office hours, and ever since that one meeting I had with him I knew that LMU was the right place for me. Who was the professor? [Dr.] Dean Schiebel. He probably doesn’t even know this. I went to his office hours and it was freshman year. I don’t know what class it was...I think it was public speaking. And I went to his office hours because I didn’t know what I wanted my speech to be on and he ended up calling his wife and putting her on speakerphone to join her in on our conversation. And I ended up getting a ton of good advice from

the both of them. You know, us having a three-way conversation, I don’t even know the topic was on. But just the freedom to call up a family member, and to share someone so close with me, that I don’t even know, but he felt comfortable enough and I felt comfortable enough to talk to them, just that sense of care really stuck with me. And I called my parents after and I was like “You won’t believe what my professor just did! He called his wife on the phone,” and that’s when my parents were like “This is why we sent you to LMU; this is why we’re paying so much for school, to have those sort of connections with your professors.” How has the Department helped you in achieving your goals? They’re really encouraging. I think every professor that I’ve had, I felt like I could go to them for anything that I need and I feel like they always have my back no matter how well I know them because I feel like they truly care about their students and they’ll do anything and everything in their power to help us succeed and reach our potential whether it’s before graduation or after college. They make me feel like it would be ok to email them or call them if I’m looking for a job or need a connection. They’ve given me that assurance that they’ll be there even when LMU is over. How has LMU shaped you as a person? The size of LMU has really helped me to reach out to people in ways I probably wouldn’t if I was in a bigger school just because I’m around these people a lot more and I’m able to grow deeper friendships with people at this school rather than at a really big school where you don’t really see as many people as you can. But, I don’t know, I think LMU just has a really friendly loving community full of people who really care about you. And I think being a Communication major, I really felt that especially in CFA’s community. My advisor is really, really nice and helpful and I feel like I can go to her for anything. And the people in my classes are also friendly and we all kind of help each other and it’s a whole network where everyone can work together and if you have a problem then somebody is always there to help you. And so in that way it’s really helped me to become more confident in my skills and who I am and what I can be after college. What kind of legacy you want to leave? What do you want to leave or be known for? I probably want to be remembered as somebody who is always curious, like I always have more questions. Like if they give us an idea I always have a question to ask or something I wonder about. That’s not to say that I’m never satisfied, but I’m always willing to learn and explore more whenever the opportunity presents itself.

matilda rudolph music â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;16

Why Music? So I’ve been playing piano since I was 5. I’ve always really loved it. My older sister also played piano and I always looked up to her and I wanted to play the piano like her. When the time came for me to really think about what I wanted to study in college, I didn’t even really have to think about it. I knew I just wanted to keep pursuing music and so I don’t even think I really decided that it was something that I was going to do, it was somewhere I was always headed. That’s one of those things that I couldn’t imagine studying anything else. I think it’s a really big part of who I am and being able to study it in college has helped me better understand, not only music and piano, but also how I relate to it. Why LMU? LMU had the most comforting, homey feeling out of all the campuses I visited, and I really liked that. I walked around and people were smiling and laughing, not that people weren’t at other places too, but it just felt like there was more of a connection between the people. Also, the Music Department was really important in that decision. They really reached out to me. I took lessons with my teacher Dr. [Wojciech] Kocyan, and I really really liked that, and I really thought the smaller size of the school and location would be a good place for me to be. What’s your most vivid memory of your major at LMU, a lecture, a class, etc. that sticks out to you? I think that there’s been a lot of those moments and one of them was fall of my sophomore year and I had had an okay semester, I was just sort of like working through all my stuff but I really wasn’t putting as much time in as I should have. I had just become an RA, so I was thinking about how I was going to balance that with school, and the other involvements that I had. I played in one of the recitals and I did not play well. It wasn’t fully memorized and I was just not happy with it. My teacher and I talked a lot about it after, and it was one of those things where he helped me really critically think about how I was handling my major and what that meant to me. It was a really important moment for me because it really made me realize how much I loved studying music and how I really needed to work on fitting it in and working at it. Music is something that comes pretty naturally to me, so I didn’t necessarily have to work really hard and make sure that I was adapting to new situations. I was just doing my own thing and not thinking very critically about it, and that’s been really important for me because it showed me that I really need to be thinking about how I’m practicing, when I’m practicing, how much I’m practicing, and how to make that a priority. That’s a really vivid memory for me because it was like a turning point in how I thought of my major, and what it meant to me. I think every time on a different note, every time I get to perform, especially in Murphy, Murphy is a beautiful place to perform, I absolutely love it and I think that it’s a form of communication that’s very singular, and I can’t imagine not performing, and playing and sharing for other people. Those are the moments that I hold very dear to me.

What inspires you? I think something that I’ve been really thinking a lot about in relation to music is it’s social aspect. Right now I’m working on putting together my senior recital, and my program is focused on having pieces that were written as response to something that has happened in society, or written in response to evoke a certain response in an audience, and I think that tat is something that really inspires me because I like to think of music as a language and as a way for people to communicate and connect with each other. Being able to connect with it and being able to look at it and see how – my music which has no words, and is not a very clear form of communicating, how can it cause people to think about things in different ways, thinking about things that are going on around them, mostly like their relationships with other people. That’s inspiring for me. Do you have a dream job after college? I actually have had a really interesting semester, so I found out I have carpal and capable tunnel, so I haven’t really been playing. So I’ve been granted all of this free time to think about what I want to do with music and so I was planning on applying to grad schools for performance, and now kind of lately I’ve really been thinking about maybe, I shouldn’t be doing performance right out of school, maybe that’s something I need to save for a little while. I’m starting to think that I may want to go into music therapy, which would combine what I like doing the most – using music as a tool to connect to other people, or using it to help people connect to themselves. That’s something that I thought about a long time ago and it’s something that just came up recently in the past couple months, so I’m really excited about that. There’s also another program called El Systema, which is a music kind of based orchestra and teaching program in underprivileged communities. It started in Venezuela and now it’s in 50 countries all over the world, and that’s also a program I’m interested in working with. We’ve touched on it a little bit, but how has your Department helped you in achieving your goals? My Department is just incredible. The Music Department is small and that has given me the opportunity to get to know all of my professors really well. My classes are normally 5 to 15-20 people, so they’re really small so they’re really really supportive. I think especially right now they have just been really understanding of my situation and really supportive in making sure that I’m healthy before I start playing again, but even before then, they’ve always been encouraging me inside and outside of the classroom and I just think that’s a really wonderful thing. The faculty relationships that I’ve built have really helped me feel connected and involved in the Department. I have carpal tunnel in my wrists and cubital tunnel in my elbows. I took a break for a while, and I can play for 20-30 minutes a day, but I am also doing physical therapy. I have to wear braces at night, so it’s a work in progress. There’s not really one way to solve it, it’s different for everyone but I can work it out. It’s a matter of time and what works best for me.

aaron de la torre graphic design â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;16

Why Graphic Design? I’ve always loved doing things with art and computers, so it was natural that I came to it, but I probably didn’t get into it until my senior year of high school, I took a graphic design course and one of our assignments was to design something for the Twilight Dance Series in Santa Monica, and I ended up winning second place for that, so that’s what drove me to pursue it. Then I went to Santa Monica College for my freshman and sophomore year, and came in as a junior. How has the transition been? Good. It’s a lot more focused, with SMC it’s a more open school so there’s a lot of people competing for Professors’ attention. What I love about here is that it’s more one on one. When did you realize you wanted to major? After I did a few more assignemnts for that teacher in high school, he encouraged me to pursue it because he thought I had an eye for it. What’s your most significant memory from your major? Last semester I was part of two big branding projects. One was for the Office of Ethnic and Intercultural Services, I designed their logo and branding with two other students for their Social Justice Series. We created the logo, look and branding, posters and everything for it, and the look and feel of what we wanted to do. The cool thing is that it started out as a competition so they paired up designers with a marketing major and a representative from EIS, and we were in competition to design the logo, our group won. I was also able to design for the Undergraduate Research Symposium, so I did the logo and branding as well with two other students. What inspires you? For me, one of the biggest things is growing up in LA because it’s so multicultural and so diverse, there’s so many things going on in the city. I love photography, so I love going out and shooting Downtown LA, and just the different people who are in that area, as well as graffiti, art, things in our normal, everyday life that we normally don’t pay attention to are what catch my eye. Hidden treasures in these parts of the city that many people don’t go to.

issues. I’m looking to do something with them, I’m not sure what. What’s your dream job after college? I know I want to do something in social justice. I like doing visual identities, working with a company, building their brand, their look and feel like I’ve already done, because I know that process and I like taking things that are complicated and trying to create some kind of vision for it. My dream job though is to somehow find my way into working for Apple. I love what they’ve done, as well as their clean style, simple but iconic. What do you hope to accomplish with the rest of your time here at LMU? I want to experience it more, I feel like my first year I’ve been trying to play catch up and learn the way things work here, and I think I’m finally adjusted to it. I want to be able to experience it a little bit more, involve myself with as many things as I can here. How has the Department helped you in achieving your goals? One of the things I love about all the classes here is that it’s not about what you’re creating on the screen, they really push you to think about what you’re doing beyond the screen. How to design it, draw it up, and make a print, or a physical product, something that will influence this world. I think that’s one of the things that’s pushing me to this idea of visual identities. The work that I’ve done molded it in a way. The teachers here are also more one on one. They’re real, and they’ll tell you exactly what you need to fix, or what the issue is. I call it a blessing and a curse. They push us, once I think I’m done with something, I’m never really done with it. What mark do you hope to leave at LMU after you’re gone? That I was involved in something on this campus. Hopefully, one thing about Social Justice Series is that they’ll be able to use that design for the years to come, and it was something that I set in motion that will continue on, a part of my legacy here. I like the connection with the alumni, with the KaleidoLA [Speaker] Series, the door is still open for alumni here.

What do you like to do when your not in class? I’ve been doing my own projects lately. Freelancing is something I’ve been doing on the side, I also have two internships that I’m working with. One’s a girls’ dance company, designing promotions for them and working with a social media marketing company, so that takes up most of my time. As far as free time, I typically will design something just out of the blue to sharpen my skills and keep learning, especially on social justice topics. My parents are both immigrants, so a lot of what I do speaks to the political issues going on right now with Donald Trump. They are kind of my side commentary, so I’ll do visual metaphors, and political cartoons that speak on those

nico marks multimedia arts â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;16

multimedia arts â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;16

Why Multimedia Arts? Honestly, I didn’t choose it, it chose me, to be honest. Originally I was a photo major but I got really bored with that. I didn’t want to do film cause it’s a lot of work to get into the film school, and I’d be here a lot longer, so I thought about what else I could do that’s art. I can’t paint, I can’t make sculptures, but me and computers are BFFs, so I thought, I can shoot, I can record, when it comes to using my hands to mold things, so I thought design, let’s do Graphic Design, that sounds cool, I might be good at that, and maybe I could really expand on it. Did you always know you wanted to do something in the art world? Yeah definitely, ever since I was younger, I’ve wanted to be in the arts. I finally found my thing with photography and video and with that. For a period, I was without art though, I was pre-med for two years, but then I found art, doing what I love. Since then, in a one year span, I’ve shot seven music videos, shot for four different brands, shot a couple of concerts, including J. Cole’s tour, and that’s all within a year span of entering this industry. Who inspires you? Definitely my mom, who’s a photographer as well, so with that, I always admired her work. She’s one of the best photographers I’ve seen, I was always inspired by her. Coming here, meeting people like [CFA alum] Ari and my mentor Garland [Kirkpatrick], they’ve constantly pushed me to higher levels of artistry that I never thought about tapping into. I never looked at art as a full-time career, I’d always been taught that it’s a side thing, but now it’s my career so. What subject matter are you attracted to? Definitely edgy, I hate boring stuff. Raw. Grunge is a good word. My style is very raw. I never do Photoshop to fix imperfections or blemishes because that’s not what I thought. I like to capture what really happened, like a visual documentarian, if that makes sense. Like this right here, I would shoot this scene, maybe I’d change a thing, have a little bit of grain here and there, make it look warm and nice, but I’ll never touch any body’s face or body. That’s not who they are, and some photographers you get a lot of distortion and that’s just not what I’m about. A lot of my clients, that’s why they like shooting with me, is because I can make them look beautiful without them being modified. Are there any places or environments that inspire you? I go to the LA River a lot. Anywhere there is a vast space, super empty and it’s just me and maybe a few other people, I get a lot of inspiration there because it makes you think this world’s so big and you’re so small, there’s so much to explore and shoot and that gives me ideas and helps me develop my concepts of whatever I’m developing at that time.

the car, holding my nephew, with him staring back up into his eyes. After I shot that, I knew that this was what I wanted to do because it’s all about capturing those moments that will never happen again, and after he passed, that’s what sticks to me the most. Dream job after college? I don’t have a dream job, I have dream jobs. That’s the biggest thing with me, I get bored really easily. I like to do a lot of creative direction, right now I have three clients, and I’m the creative director, and then I do video direction, photography, I have a magazine so I just sort of dabble in a lot of stuff. What do you hope to accomplish while you’re still at LMU? Make a difference with the resources here. That’s happening very soon, I’m shooting a documentary with a professor on the subject of global awareness of India. That would be the ideal thing for me, making a difference, using my life, my abilities to really push topics that I work on. She went to India because her mom was sick, and while she was there she came across this group of people that every three days, they travel and set up a fair, and break down a fair in three days. That’s their lifestyle, they’re nomadic, that’s all they do, but over there it’s very dangerous to travel. There were little kids traveling with adults and she noticed that all they wanted to do was learn. So I guess they put a mat on the floor and the kids sat down and she taught class one day. After, they were like, “So is this school?” And she came back each day while she was there and taught them, so she came up with this idea to create a school bus, that was an actual school, that traveled with the nomadic people, but since it’s a very dangerous area, she, or whoever teaches, is going to do the teaching via TV screens in the bus. It’s called Innocent India. How has the Department helped you in achieving your goals? Through the access and the resources that are here and being able to use the studio equipment, rent out cameras, even just talk to professionals and people that have worked here who have moved on to other jobs, that’s really helped. Networking through [the] KaleidoLA [Speaker Series], which is something that I feel everybody should go to, it’s a great experience. Being for us students, to help us grow and develop, see ourselves grow into something that we never thought we would be, thorugh the help of professors and creative outlets to reach out and talk and the access that we get to create our own ideas and programs that or clubs that we never thought we could do. The openness to creation here on campus is such a benefit.

Whats your most significant memory about your major? My grandpa passed away last May. Before he passed, he was going through Chemotherapy, I shot a picture of him with my nephew who was just born, and it’s my grandpa in

kevin dwyer theatre arts â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;17

Why Theatre Arts? I chose Theatre Arts because it’s something I started doing in sixth grade as kind of an outlet instead of sports. Theatre was something that I found via a neighbor who was in a community theatre show, and my fifth grade teacher was in a community theatre show and I thought it was really cool and I asked my mom to be in one and so she let me audition. I started doing it in sixth grade and I just never stopped and it’s something that makes me really really happy and it’s something that I feel like I am good at, and it’s something that other people have told me that I’m good at, and it’s something that I feel makes other people happy when I do it so it’s just, my biggest passion. What is your most significant memory of your major? The first show I was in, I was in Spring Awakening freshman year first semester with Del Rey Players. We started the show with everyone on stage, and we had to be studying looking at our books. It’s set in Germany in the late 1800s, and so we’re all in school attire and studying. The first show, we’re letting the audience in, we sold out and it was really exciting, and I was really nervous but we had to stay concentrated on working, and we couldn’t look at the audience for like twenty-five minutes because for some reason they weren’t closing the doors and announced to us that they were having a problem that they needed to wait for some people. I think Spring Awakening as a whole was my most vivid memory was being on stage waiting for that audience to come in because it heightens the situations more and more, and you’re waiting and all of a sudden the doors close, the music starts, and the show just goes. I think that, all that suspense building up, is what theatre is — a constant rush. What was that process like, being in your first show at LMU? The audition process was, you’d go in, do your audition and leave. Callbacks were like seven hours, we were there until like one or two in the morning. Rehearsals were five days a week, usually from around six to midnight, every day. The timeline was shorter so instead of having maybe three months to put on the show, we had like a month and a half so everything is more condensed. Every minute is more valuable and so that being my first show definitely opened my eyes to this more serious world of theatre that I hadn’t been exposed to yet, and a much more professional level of working. You have to be taking rehearsal so seriously, because if you’re not willing to take that seriously, you have to be working on it on your own on the outside, and after working five hours in rehearsal one night, going to bed, waking up the next morning, you don’t really want to be looking at your lines and then go back to rehearsal and do the same thing every night. So that show being my first experience definitely gave me a slap in the face in terms of what my life will be like if this is what I want to do, it’s a much bigger commitment. It’s totally fun, but it’s serious when it needs to be serious.

What do you hope to accomplish with the rest of your time at LMU? In regards to Theatre Arts, I just want to be able to leave comfortably, and I know that sounds weird but with a lot of majors, you gain a certain amount of tools, and then you go into the real world, and you get a job, and you just sort of keep going. With theatre, it’s a lot like riding a bike, or improv, something that you constantly have to be working on, like exercising that tool, in order for it to continue to work so I want to be able to leave, knowing, being confident in myself that I will continue to do it and continue to take classes because you’re never done acting. I’m confident in myself that no matter the number of rejections I get I’ll keep going because it is what makes me happiest in my life. I hope to continue to be in shows that continue to challenge me. I’m in All That He Was, a musical about AIDS at the moment. How has the Theatre Arts Department helped you in achieving your goals? I went abroad this last semester in Bonn, Germany. I went with the Theatre Department for a semester long conservatory, so I took twenty-eight units and it was all theatre all the time. It was an experience unlike any other, and when I was deciding between LMU and Cal Arts, a really intensive conservatory, only acting all the time, they don’t have any clubs, no fraternities, no sororities, anything like that. So I was kind of deciding in that moment, do I want to only act for the rest of my life? Or do I want to have a real college experience and explore other options. I think it really helped me understand what I need to continue to act and what I need to work on. That semester abroad was unique to LMU, like getting teachers to come from Russia to teach you Stanislavsky method, and Brecked, to just be in a different country, learning their acting styles and putting on shows, it was just a ridiculously unique experience that I took so much away from. I think that’s probably the pivotal learning moment for me at LMU was that semester abroad and coming back from it and realizing that it’s up to me to decide how much I’m going to put into this What mark do you want to leave when you graduate? I’m involved in a lot, I’m the Social Chair of Delta Sig, I’m a Manager at Mane Entertainment, I’m on the improv team, I’m a member of Alpha Psi Omega, the Theatre Honors Society, and I’m in a show right now. I just really enjoy being involved in a lot of things, and I have to be involved in a lot of things to be happy. If I were to drop half the stuff I’m doing, I wouldn’t be as passionate about the other half. I have to split up my time and devote it to multiple things to be passionate about it and I think that includes Theatre. I think what I want to be remembered for is being capable of doing so much but being happy in that and not being miserable, because there are a lot of people who do everything just to do everything, just to have it on their resume or to say they’ve accomplished all these things. But for me I need it to remain sane and happy so just known for being happy that I’m involved and doing it for the right reasons. And that I’m talented, like if a teacher’s looking at someone from “a few years back, and he was really good” and that was me, great.