Hi, my name is Grace Martin. I’m a sophomore from Fairbanks, Alaska and am pursuing a BA in Music and Russian Area Studies. My main instrument is classical piano, but I also play piano in Jazz III, do some collaborative piano work, and sing alto in Cantorei. When I’m not practicing or studying, I like spending time with friends, doing active things like swing dancing, listening to podcasts, and crocheting. My favorite food is probably sushi and I have an acute tea addiction. I love trees and Spotify and get excitement tears when I see famous art and monuments.
I realize that this course is going to be a lot more than just absorbing amazing art, but that’s what first caught my attention. Like I previously mentioned, I get really excited about museums and famous sites so the concept of going to DC for a month and experiencing so much art, both visual and performance, seemed like a dream trip. The fact that our course also ties into politics and arts management intrigued me too. I love seeing how different fields of study can connect and in that connection, paint a more complex and detailed portrait of the world around us. As a music student, it would be very useful as well to explore arts management and how arts get funded as this may give insight into career paths where I can apply my artistic studies.
Besides being excited to experience the art, I can’t wait to talk with all the professionals that we plan to meet. I think this will be a great opportunity to learn how we can harness the arts to improve communities and how to make it happen. Additionally, I’ve never lived in a city for this long and I feel blessed in getting the chance to be a guest in our nation’s capital, a city which has such a rich history and culture. The only thing I’m a little nervous about is living on city food and also feeling at home in our group, but I have high hopes for both and will try to maintain a positive attitude.
There may be a few areas of expertise I have to offer our group, but knowing St. Olaf students, I’m sure others will be well versed in these areas as well. I got a fair amount of art history exposure in high school so that knowledge could be helpful to the group. As a music major, there may be situations where my knowledge of music could be helpful as well. In addition, I have visited many cities so I have a bit of experience in how to use metros and big city etiquette. I also know some conversational Spanish, French, and Russian which could come in handy in a city with so many different ethnicities. I’m also very good at finding the silver lining in non ideal situations! I can’t wait to see what these upcoming weeks bring and look forward to getting to know our class.
See you in DC!
Grace M.