Meet Art Education And Crafts Double Major Emily Shaffer

I chose to study at Kutztown because this campus is absolutely beautiful. It's so well-kept. The surrounding community is really beautiful as well. This area is really rich in culture and beautiful landscapes so as an artist it's a big inspiration point for me. I knew coming to Kutztown that I would be an art major, and then I found out how wonderful the art education program is here, so I decided to be an art education major. As I was studying that I discovered the fine metals program. Graduating as an art education major was not enough for me so I decided to stay an extra year and study craft. Art for me is an emotional outlet. It's a way that I can visually represent what I'm feeling, and for me I just love to create things. I love to make things. To be able to share that with others is such an awesome thing for me. I've gotten real world experience outside of the classroom and the faculty here really set me up to succeed. They want you to succeed and they set you up with connections that can definitely help launch your professional career. The highlight of my artistic career here is definitely being chosen to represent this university at the Philadelphia Museum Craft Show. It was such an honor to be there with a few of my peers and it was so great that our school could have a booth next to professional artists in our field. I'm really proud of everybody and I'm really proud of myself. As an art major sometimes you're here very late working on projects and to be able to have your peers with you and support you- it's such a great bonding experience. The friends that I made in this building I'm going to have for the rest of my life. After I graduate I definitely want to find a way to combine art education and craft. I'm definitely not finished learning, so I plan on taking some workshops over the summer. I'm also teaching some metal-smithing classes, which should already start, so we'll see what the future holds. I would tell that student that this school is really great and the friends you make here you're going to have for the rest of your life. The faculty is really supportive. Don't be afraid to be involved. There's a lot of extra things going on around campus and you're going to have a lot of fun.