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Final Touches: Stephanie Dorsch ‘18

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Posted on Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Like many Westminster seniors, fine arts major Stephanie Dorsch is putting the final touches on her capstone project. Drawing inspiration from studying abroad in Costa Rica and Spain, her love of psychology and nature, Stephanie’s artwork was created to communicate what she describes as the common human experience.

“I was really reflective during my time abroad when I started creating the idea for my project,” Stephanie explained. “I was really inspired by the consequences of being human like language, vulnerability, narrow-mindedness, freedom, rights, senses and brainpower.”

Since traveling and meeting people from around the world, Stephanie’s love for psychology really blossomed into passion and essentially became the backbone of her capstone project. During her internship in Seville, Spain at BarroAzul Ceramic Studio, Stephanie recalls feeling like she saw humanity from a new perspective for the first time. In between translating and assisting with classes and studio work, Stephanie was able to collect different human experiences that she would later bring to life as she created her capstone project.

Though the undergraduate capstone process can be demanding, Stephanie is grateful to have a mentor in Professor Summer Zickefoose. Capstone truly challenges students to integrate all of the skills they have developed over the years and apply what they have learned. Fortunately for Stephanie, she feels like this process has allowed her to set the foundation for what kind of artist she strives to be in the future.

“I have so much respect and appreciation for Professor Zickefoose,” Stephanie shared. “She has provided so much guidance, professional critique and opportunities for me to learn and grow as an artist and student. She really challenged me to expand my project and directly influenced the overall evolution of the project.”

With capstone finally behind her, Stephanie’s next project is focusing on life after graduating this coming Spring. After graduation, she plans to take a year to apply for graduate programs in the psychology fields, specifically program that combines her interests in art therapy and its relation to neuropsychology. She is also interested in different international programs like the Peace Corps for example.

“As a fine art major, psychology minor, and biology minor, I often have a hard time narrowing down my interests,” Stephanie said. “It is amazing how a community so small like Westminster can be filled with so many opportunities. The most fascinating part about a college of this size is that, if you really wanted to, you can basically try it all.”