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At the Peck School of the Arts and UWM, Im learning about who I am physically, who I
am emotionally, who I am as an artist. And it helps feed into the idea of what you want
to do, what you want to become. It feels like a very welcome place, it feels like, Youre
really afforded a lot of opportunity with the people around you. Peck School of the
Arts always has something, whether it be film related or theater related, music related,
art painting related. I found a home immediately. Being a transfer student, a special student,
returning student I was not your traditional, fresh out of high school student and I finally
decided to pursue my theater because thats what I knew I always wanted to do. I auditioned
and got in and here I am in my last semester now. I really liked the specificity of UWMs
BFA acting program. It was just perfect. And I thought this time there was more humor.
The things that Ive learned and the people that Ive met have been of utmost importance
to where I am now. I feel like Ive grown so much in the past two years. I would say that
the most memorable thing Im going to take and the thing that Im going to really apply
to my life is getting up and preparing myself everyday to perform. For me to come to where
I am now, from where I was before, it really amazes me. Ive always loved music. Its something
that Ive always been able to rely on, what I really enjoy doing is when you get done
with a concert and its gone very well and you can just tell that other people were touched
by it. Thats what means the most. Yeah its pretty cool! And this is the first time you
have that formula in unison. Ive worked with Bernard Sing because hes my studio teacher.
Hes a very demanding teacher but he knows how to articulate what he wants and he doesnt
just focus on technique of how to play the violin, he focuses on the musicality and he
wants you to know art from the time period of your piece, the history of the time period
because all of that effects how you play the music. The Peck School of the Arts has a very
encouraging environment. Everybody wants each other to succeed. And no fear in your eye
or your face. Ive learned a lot while Ive been here. Im very glad I came here. I think
its a good place to be and I think its a great place to start off in your training and to
start off your career as a dancer. Ever since I started dancing with the department it was
really important for me to progress as quickly as I could and I think Ive done that because
I really have come a long way; that is just testament to whose here teaching. They really
have a lot of really important, life-changing things to teach us. And stay on the leg and
go over. We have a lot of guest artists who come into the department. Garth Vagen is our
resident choreographer for this season. Hes the Tony Award winning choreographer of the
musical The Lion King. I was chosen to be a part of the piece he had set on us this
semester and its called "From Before". You end up stronger every day. Youre more capable
every day. Its all just about learning and growing, striving to try to understand my
potential. I like the whole idea of telling stories and bringing stories to life. This
is a 16mm film camera. You can change the lenses around to get different views of what
you want to see. You can do stop animation. You can do it by hand, by tripod. Youre the
one in charge; youre the one thats creating it. Youre the one that gets to call the final
shots on what you want to make out of it. But the whole editing process, its a personal
puzzle that only you know the answer to. You know theres different ways of looking at stuff.
I can look at this through a zoom lens; I can look at through a wide-angle lens. I can
look at this from this angle; I can look at this lighting. See what I mean? I can just
now start picking and choosing, putting things in the way how I want them. Here at UWM, more
hands on stuff. Every day I try my best to get more and more into it. I know Im actually
doing it, instead of reading about it. It made the whole film making experience just
a bit more personal. And I like that. Art is really a language and for me, making art
work for myself wasnt necessarily enough. As soon as I started here at UWM, I knew that
I had a skill for arts and making art for me was also showing people how to make art.
This will automatically stick out and I think that will add some really nice dimension to
it, right? Going into art education seemed like a natural decision. I have a great interest
in making sure that students have what they need. If you know what you want this to look
like, then you go for it. Student teaching at UWM is awesome. We observe hours upon hours
so by the time we get to our student teaching we have already had so many experiences in
the classroom its very, very comfortable. My professors, of course, helped me to find
ways to communicate my ideas and to really set high expectations for students. Well I
would say that Milwaukee has been an amazing city to get my start in as an artist. I really
like living on the East Side of Milwaukee. Its a very good city for artists to be in
because there are so many art galleries and we have art museums and the MSO. Weve got
the lake and everything that offers. For young actors who are trying to, you know, build
their skills and their resume and their experience, its an awesome place to be because there are
tons of opportunities. There are tons of things to do. Its a very good place to be and to
grow in.