"Fresh" Eyes on Campus - Visual and Digital Arts Majors Photographically Explore AIC During New Student Orientation

Text and photos by freshman Owen Russo:   When I came to AIC’s New Student Orientation, I was expecting the same boring stuff before I really got into my learning and exploring my major.  As a Visual and Digital Arts major, I was pleasantly surprised when we got to meet our professors at Orientation, and were immediately able to get out and start taking photos and thinking creatively.

Photo by Owen Russo

So, when we were let free to explore and capture the campus, I caught myself wanting to try to look at something everyone sees and capture it from an alternate perspective.  This instant, hands-on learning style really set a strong expectation for what I’d be learning and only left me feeling excited to see what comes next. 

Photo by Owen Russo

Text and photos by freshman Raz Perl:  During move-in day, we had our new student orientation where we were assigned to take pictures that represent the idea of the way we, as first year students, see American International College.  We all got cameras and were told to walk around the school and be inspired.  I got a camera and started walking around campus. I tried to find a creative way to represent what I see.  I tried to take photos from different angles and different perspectives. First, I saw the 1961 carved in the wall and thought that it represents AIC well.  I went up the stairs to take a closer look and saw the AIC flag.  It was just perfect.  (Perl is a member of AIC's first ever triathlon team.)

Photo by Raz Perl

The next photo, I decided to go further from the object in order to create a more open space, where there is more to see, a bigger picture. I thought this is a good way to represent AIC because so many things happen in college, you just need to stop for a second and take a look at everything around you.

Photo by Raz Perl

The final photo I thought was a good representation of AIC is the photo of Hines Hall with the flags in front of it.  I think that the flags are a great addition to the whole idea of AIC since it represents the acceptance of everyone, no matter where they came from, which I find it powerful.

Photo by Raz Perl