This year, office associate and ambassador coordinator Martha Sears cultivated a new crop of Art Ambassadors. Art and art history majors Kathryn Bornhoft, Kelby Cox, Charla Davis, Erin Hein, Rachel Jones, Katherine Langner, Amanda Miller and Julia Stewart greeted and gave tours to potential students, parents and other visitors.
Our ambassadors introduced themselves at the Majors Fair and Get on Board Day and participated in Homecoming festivities on the main quad. These students share an enthusiasm for art and a desire to “give back” before they embark on their next life stage. Some, like Rachel Jones, think it is important to let prospective students know how valuable “the traditional university” experience can be. Jones, from Knoxville, is a BFA track major with a minor in the Blount Undergraduate Initiative program (BUI). Erin Hein, a double major in art history and biochemistry (and a minor in the BUI program) from Wheaton, Illinois, “loves” her experience in the department and wants to share that with potential students. Amanda Miller, from Cullman, is on a BFA track with a concentration in painting. Studio major Charla Davis, from Birmingham, is concentrating in digital media with a double minor in BUI and art history. Julia Stewart, also from Birmingham, is majoring in art history with a minor in Spanish. Kelby Cox is a double major in art history and studio art with a concentration in ceramics. Cox recently added a minor in Italian and graduated this spring, in three years! Katherine Langner, from San Francisco, will graduate in August with a double major in art history and public relations. Kathryn Bornhoft, from Los Angeles, is a BFA track major with a concentration in sculpture and ceramics.
An Array of Career Choices in Art
The variety of career plans among our ambassadors is dizzying, proof of the wide-ranging possibilities for studio art and art history majors. Hein plans to go into art conservation. Miller wants to teach high school art and then go into arts administration. Davis aims to be a graphic designer. After she earns an MFA in illustration, Jones says “my dream job is working as a concept artist, designing for video games or graphic novels.” Stewart says that she will “pursue a career in art galleries.” Cox is applying to graduate school in art history and hopes to go into museum work. Langner wants to work for an art auction company. Bornhoft plans to go to graduate school and then into teaching. Bornhoft’s words sum up quite well the driving force of all of these young women: “art as an experience enriches life at all levels and is something that should be accessible everywhere.”
Go here for more information about our undergraduate programs: https://art.ua.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/