By 
By: RACHEL NUNER
Staff Writer
rnuner@iusb.edu
Before officially completing their journey through IU South Bend’s Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts, graduating fine arts and new media students have a chance to present the finished products of their hard work.
For the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Student Exhibition, all graduating arts students will have the final projects from their capstone classes on display from Monday, Nov. 30, through Saturday, Dec. 12, in the Art Gallery located within the Education and Arts Building.
A gallery talk and reception will be held from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 3. Entry into the Art Gallery is free to everyone.
The gallery talk and reception will give the students a chance to thoroughly describe their artwork and answer questions. It will be an “engrossing display of their hard work and dedication to their crafts,” according to a statement from the Raclin School.
Photography student Melinda “Mindy” Strayer is one of many students who will have their projects on display for the BFA Student Exhibition. Despite raising a family and working two jobs, Strayer has managed to consecutively make the dean’s list while also taking a full load of classes every semester in order to graduate this December—one semester early.
“The photography program and art program in general at IUSB has been a really good fit for me,” said Strayer. “I’ve been able to take a lot of classes that are relevant to my interests, and the professors are all extremely knowledgeable.”
Strayer’s final project contains photos taken during a trip to Florence, Italy, that she took this past summer.
“All the photos were taken in Italy, but they aren’t all necessarily about Italy,” said Strayer, “I tried to capture moments of public solitude and focus my project on enjoying the present moment.”
Strayer feels there is nothing more important than living in the present and enjoying all present moment life experiences.
Strayer received an associate degree in applied business and photography from Antonelli College in 1990. She then took time to raise her family before returning to college at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) in 2012, where she realized the program was not a good fit for her, causing her to look into what IUSB had to offer.
“I decided IUSB would be a better fit for me. So I transferred right away,” said Strayer. “I was very happy with my decision to transfer to IUSB, and now 2 years later I’m still happy about that decision. I’m excited to be graduating a semester early.”
After graduation, Strayer intends to work within her field and pursue her dream of being a landscape photographer.
Other graduating arts students participating in the exhibition include Patricia Powell, Melinda “Mindy” Strayer, Christine Wilder, Daniel Wolters, Joshua Duncan, Katherine Predd, Katherine Slayton, Erin Hall, Chelsey Hunter, Adam Ross, Eric Van De Mark, Amy Bartkowiak and Ginger “Sky” Santiago.
