Acquiring Skills for Success in College
Taking advantage of opportunities that come one’s way can sometimes inspire life-changing results. Meet Kevin C., an alum of Studio Institute’s teen programs, who is currently a freshman majoring in Illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City.
Kevin on campus at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan
We caught up with Kevin on the FIT campus to learn more about his trajectory from high school student at Midwood High School interested in robotics to college freshman focused on the visual arts.
His experience with Studio teen programs began in 2022 when he was selected as a summer intern through the Bloomberg Arts Internship (BAI). He was placed at Open House New York, an organization that promotes access to NYC places, people, and ideas through year-round programming focused on education, exploration, and engagement. Kevin's role as a communications intern was to research companies and partners and to generate ideas that would attract the next generation of New Yorkers to explore the city through Open House’s annual New York Weekend event. He continued working at Open House part-time during the 2022–23 academic year.
Asked to describe some of the highlights of his BAI experience he says, “[being able] to explore more places around the city in locations that I hadn't been to before. I never venture out of Manhattan, so having the ability to just take the train everywhere allowed me to explore the city and learn more about the colleges that were nearby in Manhattan or Brooklyn.”
In addition to providing paid summer internships at New York City-based arts organizations, BAI includes college readiness support, professional development workshops, and field trips to arts and cultural destinations across the boroughs. We asked Kevin how participating in BAI helped him prepare for the transition from high school to college.
“I know for sure that if I hadn’t been in BAI, I wouldn’t even have started working on my college essay. I don't think I would have had any idea what a college is looking for in an essay. The college readiness classes allowed me to practice my writing skills, allowing me to hone what I wanted to tell as a person... it helped me to really be prepared and not have to do it during the school year. I had already finished my essay by the end of the internship.”
In addition, he says, “The [BAI] college readiness classes also helped me to research more colleges to get a better idea of what colleges were a better fit for me. Just having the opportunity to research more and having the motivation allowed me to nail it down... Eventually I chose FIT.”
In fall 2022, Kevin signed up for a Portfolio Development class (one of our free Studio Intensives for New York City public high school students), which he credits for helping to “kickstart my portfolio, because I am a very bad procrastinator.”
In addition to being introduced to mediums such as oil pastels and charcoal, which he had never used before, he says the class was instrumental in helping him develop his portfolio. Prior to taking the class, he says, “I never really had much to show.”
“Studio Intensives also allowed me to focus more on sketching, getting the general shape of a drawing, and that helped me develop a process and a routine to be able to complete a drawing and work on a portfolio.” Equipped with his enhanced portfolio, Kevin was accepted at FIT.
Kevin C., charcoal drawing, 18 x 24 inches.
Kevin says that he has applied many of the skills at college that he learned in Studio programs, especially time management. "When it comes to time management, you need to be on top of your game, on top of all the homework, and all the assignments that you get. The classes are very long; you have to time yourself when it comes to drawing, for example, because sometimes if you take too long, you're eventually going to fall behind.”
President of Studio Institute Tom Cahill and Dr. Hasna Muhammad, Chair, Studio in a School Association Board of Directors, at the Young Visions 2023 exhibition with Kevin C. and his artwork (top cityscape image).
This past May, Kevin was one of four high school seniors selected to receive scholarships in 2023 through the Studio Institute College Scholarship Program. Scholarships are based on merit and financial need and are intended to help make college affordable. The program is open to students pursuing BFA degrees who have participated in two or more of Studio Institute’s out-of-school programs.
When asked how his scholarship has helped him at FIT, he says, “Because it's college, there's a lot of pressure when it comes to funding tuition. The scholarship allows me to be worry-free. And I have more time to practice my art because my tuition will be paid off. Also, going to an art college demands a lot of materials. I wasn't really prepared for that. But the scholarship gave me the opportunity to use that money to buy art materials.”
We look forward to watching Kevin’s progress as he works toward his BFA. Meanwhile, check out this reel to hear him describe how his participation in Studio Institute programs influenced his transition from high school to college.
12.5.23