College of the Arts Honors
2021 College of the Arts Honors Day Virtual Celebration
Congratulations honorees and graduates! The journey to this day has been filled with many successes and challenges. Your hard work, dedication, and perseverance have paid off. You are the leaders of today and tomorrow, we want you to know that ßÏÀÖÔ° and the College of the Arts is very proud of your accomplishments.
We recognize those students who have been selected by their program faculty as having achieved an exemplary level of performance, who have represented their disciplines as leaders. Dedication, excellence, hard work, discipline... these are just a few of the necessary attributes that a student must possess in order to be successful in their future.
Download the 2021 COA Honors Program (printable pdf)
2021 College of the Arts - Honors
Congratulations 2021 COA Honorees and Graduates!
The artist Chuck Close stated:
“Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself.”
The gift of talent is just that, a gift. How we use that talent and refine it to be something special is our responsibility, our calling. The awardees recognized below are those individuals who felt that they needed to run through it one more time, even though no one asked them to do so. They knew that there was always more out there; that re-working, reviewing, or doing it again was an opportunity, not a burden.
These students worked to the point of exhaustion, through late hours in a studio, lab, practice room, the library, or in the field, but despite the level of exhaustion, there was no other place they would rather be. They recognized how valuable the experience of discovery, of failure, and resulting growth can be in an academic environment. You may not believe this today but you will miss it, and look back on the hardest days with fond memories.
Congratulations again to our outstanding COA students. Have a wonderful summer, and please stay healthy and safe.
A. Blake Pearce - Dean, College of the Arts
Outstanding BA-Art Student: Christian Perry
Hometown: Blackshear, GA
Degree/Program: Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Art
Post-Graduation Plans: Freelance graphic design and photography
Christian is a very cerebral maker. His approach to process is masterful and awe-inspiring. His quiet demeanor becomes amplified with the socially conscious topics he chooses to create his art around. He exemplifies what a Bachelor of Arts is meant to be by crossing over many disciplines to help communicate his message. It has been a true pleasure watching him in the studio. - Evelyn Davis-Walker
Outstanding BFA-Art Student: Sophia Dong
Hometown: Manhattan, NY
Degree/Program: Bachelor of Fine Arts with a Major in Art
Post-Graduation Plans: Starting a Business in Art/UI Design.
Faculty Comments: I’ve had the pleasure of having Sophia Dong in many of my art history courses over the years. While she is a kind person and a good student, the trait I have always appreciated most is her thoughtfulness, which allows her to visualize worlds from other times and places -- both real and mythical. While I will feel her absence from my future courses, I look forward to seeing her share her own visions with others. - Glenda Swan
Dept. of Art & Design Excellence in Service Award: Sara Williams
Hometown: Valdosta, GA
Degree/Program: Bachelor of Fine Arts with a Major in Art Education
Post-Graduation Plans: I plan to teach elementary art at Northside Elementary School in Cairo, GA, where I was recently offered the position. In addition, I plan to attend Kennesaw State University for my MA in Art and Design with an emphasis in Art Education.
Faculty Comments: Sara Williams is simply one of those people. One of those people who always makes you smile. One of those people who really listens. One of those people who always puts other people before herself. One of those people who inspires you to be one of those people. Thank you, Sara, for sharing so much of yourself with all of us. - Glenda Swan
Outstanding BFA-Art Education Student: Anna Alyse Bowman
Hometown: Chickamauga, GA
Degree/Program: Bachelor of Fine Arts with a Major in Art Education
Post-Graduation Plans: After graduation, my goal is to become a high school art teacher. Furthermore, I want to continue my career as an independent artist. My plan is to continue to push myself as an artist by entering art shows, working on commissions, and using my art in a charitable way!
Faculty Comments: While there are many things to admire about Alyse Bowman, I was struck by the way in which she approached her coursework with the mind of an educator. Like so many excellent students, Alyse always made sure she understood directions, set goals, remained mindful of deadlines, and responded effectively to feedback. With Alyse, however, it was not uncommon to receive notes expressing how helpful an activity or resource was to her learning, or how she appreciated the time taken to provide her with feedback. I am so pleased to know that other students will soon be having such a gifted educator at the head of their own classroom. - Glenda Swan
Outstanding BFA- Interior Design Student: Allison Caughron
Hometown: Sarasota, FL
Degree/Program: Bachelor of Fine Arts with a Major in Interior Design
Post-Graduation Plans: I recently accepted a job at Eridel Design Studio as a Junior Designer in Sarasota, FL.
Faculty Comments: Allison is a very dedicated and hardworking student. She has been the treasurer for the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) ßÏÀÖÔ° Student Chapter, showing her strong leadership skills in this role. She has maintained a strong professional demeanor and a high level of skill in her student work. - Tommy Crane
Meritorious Accomplishment Award-Interior Design: Hyejin Jeong
Hometown: Busan, South Korea
Degree/Program: Bachelor of Fine Arts with a Major in Interior Design
Post-Graduation Plans: While I will participate in the undergraduate ceremony on May 07, 2021 my actual graduation is August 2021.
Faculty Comments: Hyejin has a strong design sense with unique creative approaches to using materials and finishes to produce strong design solutions. She has a well defined approach to her design thinking process and commitment to professionalism. - Tommy Crane
*College of the Arts Banner Carrier
Outstanding Art Student - Overall: Madelynn Tahsler
Hometown: Kennesaw, GA
Degree/Program: Bachelor of Fine Arts with a Major in Art
Post-Graduation Plans: After Graduation I will be continuing my dedication to the ceramic arts and research as I teach workshops and attend artistic residencies across the nation. My career goals are to open a teaching studio and work in glaze research and development.
Faculty Comments: Maddy is a relentless seeker of knowledge, who loves to hunt for that knowledge almost as much as the discovery itself because she finds so many new ideas along the way. However, she does not forge that path alone, as her enthusiasm for learning easily draws others into her investigations. The halls of this department will certainly miss the echo of her shared thoughts and queries, but we all look forward to hearing much more about what Maddy goes on to discover after graduation. - Glenda Swan
Creative Excellence – Dance: Olivia Rosenthal
Hometown: Memphis, TN
Degree/Program: Bachelor of Fine Arts with a Major in Dance
Post-Graduation Plans: Stay Tuned!
Faculty Comments: Olivia is intelligent, inquisitive, creative, driven, and humble – all of the makings of an artist. As a student at ßÏÀÖÔ° she constantly pushes the faculty and her peers to continue questioning and creating. She has dedicated her time at ßÏÀÖÔ° to explore herself as an artist and to refine her technique and performance skills as a dancer through countless hours of self-discovery and practice. She isn’t afraid to dig deep and draw out the hidden parts of herself that come through in her choreography and performance. At her best, she is fearless.
– Sarah Wildes Arnett
Olivia is an incredibly gifted student who is kind, creative, driven, reflective, and insightful. Her intelligence and intuitive abilities not only span her academic work, but allow her to exude creativity in her assignments for class and beyond to her personal interests in dance. She has been exceptional in all that she does in the dance program at ßÏÀÖÔ° in her class work, performance, and personal research. It is clear that the dance field will gain an incredible artist and contributor when she graduates from ßÏÀÖÔ°. – Nina Kossler
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