Summer 2011 Issue - The Art Institutes
Summer 2011 Issue - The Art Institutes
Summer 2011 Issue - The Art Institutes
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CALLING<br />
A<br />
iGA is the national professional association for design. According to<br />
information provided on their website, AiGA’s mission is to advance<br />
design as a professional craft, a strategic tool, and a vital cultural force.<br />
“We’re committed to design—and to more than 22,000 members in<br />
66 chapters who create, inspire and appreciate good design. AiGA’s members are<br />
the lifeblood of the organization.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Art</strong> <strong>Institutes</strong> International Minnesota’s (Ai Minnesota) AiGA student organization<br />
was formally known as AiGD, until the group’s recent official status was established<br />
with AiGA. <strong>The</strong> mission of Ai Minnesota’s AiGA student organization is<br />
to bring the professional and student design communities together and to provide<br />
networking opportunities for students within the extended community.<br />
When I first came to Ai Minnesota, I was fresh out of high school and had no idea<br />
what I was doing. I wasn’t really involved in high school, but I was determined<br />
not to slack in college.<br />
I decided to be involved and active in extra-curricular activities. I joined AiGD<br />
and a few other groups. I really had no idea what the AiGD was, let alone what<br />
AiGA was, I just did what people told me to do.<br />
Today, I am the president of the student group affiliated with AiGA. We have<br />
made great progress and plan on continuing it, but the most common questions I<br />
receive are, “What is it?” and “What am I suppose to do?” This is a problem.<br />
ALL<br />
MENTORS<br />
By Kelsey Voorhees<br />
10th Quarter Graphic Design (BS)<br />
AiGD is all about networking and building connections between the student<br />
design community and the professional design community. We provide opportunities<br />
for students by engaging them in different AiGA events, like lectures, design<br />
competitions, and networking social events, just to name a few.<br />
We also host different competitions at school, and have peer critiques as well. In<br />
general, we provide a co-curricular community for students to learn about design<br />
and prepare for their future career.<br />
To build enthusiasm and support education, we are starting up a mentor program,<br />
and we need involved students who have been here for at least 5 quarters. <strong>The</strong><br />
goal is to help new students by going to events with them, by helping them with<br />
critiques, and by assisting with class assignments.<br />
Ideally, we want new students to participate in their community of learning,<br />
and we want them to experience value as a result. We also want to maintain the<br />
excitement of discovery that new students feel when they first begin, and which<br />
may fade as students near graduation.<br />
If you are interested in being a mentor, or would like to participate in any way,<br />
please contact the student chapter of AiGA through the office of Student Affairs,<br />
or look it up on the college’s website. Remember, there is no student community<br />
without the involvement of students.