Pieces of BGSU

In high school I was class president, and basically involved in anything I could possibly be involved in. When I graduated I was more than happy to be done with all of my previous obligations. I was ready to move on! So when I started attending college, I didn’t rush to join any clubs. Looking back, I think I made the right decision to just hang out and get used to college life. I needed time to relax, adjust and hang out with my new friends. Sophomore year, I was adjusted and happy but missed being involved in different organizations like I had been in high school.

Now I am a junior and it feels as though everything has kind of fallen in to place. I am in two different organizations that I try to do as much as I can for. I am a member of Print Society and treasurer for the Two Dimensional Artists Association- better known as 2DAA (I’m an art major). I love being a part of these different organizations, and I love all of my friends that are a part of them, too. But there is one tiny problem… I am TERRIBLE with budgeting money, counting money, keeping track of money…need I continue? So the job description of treasurer lists all of those things and more- which creates a problem for me. I decided to take the job and put forth my best effort. Who knows, maybe I could learn a thing or two and in the future handle my own money with more care.

Moving back to school, I was a little nervous being treasurer; I didn’t want to mess anything up. Then I went to the training session for treasurers of all the different organizations on campus… and that did not help my nerves at all. I realized from that meeting that being treasurer was only one hundred times more confusing than I had intended. So after my small panic attack, I contacted the treasurer from the previous year and we talked about a few things I had been confused about. I also emailed one of the financial consultants to ask some other questions. I finally started to understand all of the procedures and rules. It’s only September so we will see how things actually go with me being treasurer; but if all things go well, next year I’m aiming for president.

2DAA is an organization for artists (or those who appreciate art) to get together and learn more about art and have a lot of fun. We bring in artists from all over the world to give talks, demos, do critiques and just hang out with us. We also sell work at the Black Swamp Arts Festival (coming this weekend). My favorite thing that 2DAA does is host trips to different cities in the United States. Last year, we traveled to New York City in the spring. It was one of the best times of my life. My friends and I had so much fun and were exposed to some amazing art work. We were exhausted by the end of the trip because we just went from gallery to gallery without stopping. Our last stop was the Museum of Modern Art, and I definitely didn’t give it the time it deserved, because I was ready to fall asleep! A few of my friends did get the opportunity to meet Chuck Close, which was pretty awesome. This year, we are going to Chicago in October and hopefully Washington D.C. in the spring!

Now, Print Society is for the printmakers of the art world at BG. I absolutely love the wonderful people in Print Society as well. In this organization, we sell prints at Black Swamp and do many other things. But again, my favorite activities that Print Society hosts are the trips! There are two conferences this year (Mid-American Print Conference and Southern Graphics Conference). MAPC is in October and will lead me to Minneapolis, while SGC is in the spring and will lead me to St. Louis! I just love road trips. I’m very excited to attend the print conferences and to discover the opportunities that are presented there. This semester, it seems I am going to be traveling all over the United States; so pumped!

So to be involved or not to be involved? Ultimately it is your decision, there’s no pressure to join any club. In my case, the opportunities kind of presented themselves to me and I decided to take advantage of them. Even though I do miss freshman year, where I was able to lounge around and watch television or read a good book for a large portion of my day (basically I was able to be lazy), getting involved was a big step in the right direction for me. There’s no need to overwhelm yourselves with too many obligations but just remember this, Falcons: involvement always looks good on a resume!