Visiting schools, going to interviews, filling out application after application, it’s that time of year for the class of 2019. The college process is demanding enough, but some of KO’s seniors are going above and beyond the typical college application in hopes of pursuing the arts.
Senior Brigid Bernier is looking to minor in visual arts in college, and has been diligently submitting her portfolio to schools such as Lehigh, Tulane, UConn, Boston University, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Denver. “Personally I really like drawings,” she said. “I haven’t really done much with sculpture or photography but I’d really like to pursue those too, my main thing is painting and drawing.”
While she isn’t applying to any art schools, the portfolio is still submitted along with all her normal applications as a supplementary piece. “For the colleges I’m applying to since it’s just another part of my application it can be pretty much whatever I want it to be,” she said.“ I’m personally sending in a wide variety of things I can do and drawings I’ve done in the past.” Last year Brigid took portfolio prep, a year-long art elective with art teachers Scott McDonald and Greg Scranton. The class is for juniors and seniors who are interested in doing some form of visual art in college, and helps them to develop a portfolio to submit to schools. Brigid said she loved the class because of the opportunities it gives with working with new materials, and absolutely recommends it to anybody thinking about taking it.
Senior Katie Brough is applying to colleges for theater, and is working towards her goal of performing on Broadway. She is applying to multiple Bachelors in Fine Arts programs in the northeast, including NYU, Ithaca College, and Syracuse University. The summer before sophomore year Katie decided she wanted to get serious about acting. “I registered for voice lessons so I could get better,” she said.“ I got more serious about dance and I worked on it more and decided it was something I wanted to focus on.” The process of applying to schools for theater includes submitting a pre-screen, which is a video of two contrasting songs, two contrasting monologues, and a dance piece. If the school likes your pre-screen then you are invited to do a live audition, and eventually find out if you’ve been accepted to the program; Katie has already been asked back for a live audition at Elon University. “Even now I’m nervous because it’s such a risky career path,” she said. “But I think if I don’t believe I can do it no one else is going to believe I can do it, so I have to get there first.”
Senior Liv Coxon is also pursuing not only theater but also singing as a minor. “I definitely want to continue singing and continue acting in college, just not as a full career,” she said. Although she isn’t going into acting or music as a career, Liv still wants to show colleges how important they are to who she is and how passionate she is about them. In applying to schools, she has submitted a five-minute video of singing performances, ranging from musicals to coffee houses, to show her musical talents and passions. “It’s a lot because it’s just like an additional thing on top of all the essays and everything,” she said.“But I think it’s definitely gonna be worth it and show more of who I am and what I’m passionate about.”
