Hello all, my name is Alexa Hwang! I’m super excited to be in this course for Interim 2022– my second ever interim, and the first interim that I’ll be on campus for. I’m a sophomore studio art & Asian studies double major here at Olaf, so my experience here with student life, classes, and remote learning has been interesting these past few years with Covid-19.

I’m from Wenatchee, WA, which is about a 2.5-hour drive east of Seattle. I have 3 siblings and 4 dogs at home, which I miss a lot only a few days into interim. In my free time, I like to draw, listen to music, play Stardew Valley (I have played almost 500 hours on steam, yikes), and embroider.

Initially, I had enrolled in this course when it was still on track to be taught in person in Washington DC. However, while this class was moved online, I’m still excited for other upcoming aspects of this class that will improve my writing skills, my knowledge of the link between democracy & the arts, learn about jobs that involve both democratic & creative aspects, and strengthen connections with my peers. I hope to bring my own life experiences and unique perspective to contribute to this course and learn about others’ perspectives as well. While I have experience in art history that will aid in the learning of this course, I hope to learn more in-depth about how art history intertwines with democracy!

While I am a little anxious about the amount of writing required for this class, along with writing the required blog posts (I’ve never written, formatted, or organized one of these before), I will hopefully power through this course while learning about possible career paths & reach out to the professor if needed for assistance.

Lastly, enjoy some pictures of my dogs from home! Interim is fun yet stressful at the same time, and many of us are dealing with personal issues, whether it be related to Covid, on-campus problems, or off-campus stressors. Here are some dog pictures to help possibly ignore that stress! : )