Katherine Bollinger (Class of 2022)
Blogger Role: Graphic Design
Major: Graphic Design
Minor: Photography, Art History
Clubs: Delight, CMYK, Agape Latte
I chose Marywood because it fit what I was looking for. I knew what area of study I wanted to pursue, Graphic Design, and not every college has an arts program. I was also leaning towards a Catholic school. In theory I was looking for a good Catholic community, though I know from friends that a lot of great secular schools have better faith communities than most private ones. And finally, it was not that far from home, I wanted to be far enough to be separate but not far enough to hate the drive. Marywood was the answer to all those requirements, it kind of fell into my lap and I was very definitive once I saw it as an option. It fits me very well, I am a small school type of person, and Scranton is a nice quiet place which is still right next to a lot of opportunities in larger surrounding cities.
I am majoring in Art because I realized the capability of making my talent a career. I grew up doing well at art and enjoying it, but I never really considered it as a future until high school. I was not pressured into thinking it was a bad decision or an impossible career; it just did not seem like something you do for a living, and I was equally as good in my math and science classes so it did not seem like the best option. But, by random chance I was placed in a Digital Design class my freshman year of high school, and I fell in love with it. I liked the technicality of learning a software program while also creating something new. It went on from there, I took all the computer design and illustration classes, and was left with the regular Studios, which I liked but not as much as the design classes. And that’s where my passion lies.
When I’m not in class, I’m doing a project. I am a project-oriented kind of person. I like to have things to do, whether it’s a club event like the Delight Bible studies, or the Agape Latte events, or just things that I do for fun. What I usually do in my free time will be either reading, cooking something new, or making a sewing project. Occasionally I will be asked, quite randomly from friends or family, to do art projects: posters, graphics, or t-shirts.
So far, my favorite art class at Marywood was probably my Intro to Typography class, though I did not take that at Marywood. I took that class while I was studying abroad in Florence, Italy. It was just so interesting to learn the history of print and how you can break it all down to pieces and make it your own. There was a lot of study and precision in that class that I liked a lot. Besides that I think my favorite class at Marywood would be Art History II, with Professor Irwin. That was an honors class that really just fit my style. We were a small class that had very in depth discussions of paintings and formal analysis, and the grading was not about memorization but on formal analysis essays. I just really enjoyed the discussion, the writing, and the professor.
The coolest thing I’ve done at Marywood so far was the study abroad program. This technically is not something I did at Marywood, but through Marywood. This opportunity was really awesome, I got to study in Florence, Italy. I not only got to study interesting subjects, but also travel all over and see many amazing pieces of artworks.
When I graduate I hope to keep growing as a designer. I hope to keep learning from other inspirational designers and continue to develop my style as an artist. I don’t, at the moment, have a very specific type of job in mind, so I only pray to be given the opportunity that would best fit me.
I’d recommend the Art program at Marywood because it is extremely flexible. Flexible in that, within the department it is so easy to branch out and try other interests. Like I took an introductory Ceramics class and absolutely loved it. And while that is not my major I still had the time in my schedule to just add it on. I also added two Art minors to my degree plan, Photography and Art History, mostly because I take some classes that overlap which makes it easier to just add on a few extra classes and get a minor accreditation.
