Published: Oct. 26, 2020

Three students have been chosen as the winners of this first-ever competition in the college


What do the liberal arts mean to you?

That was the question at the center of the first-ever College of Arts and Sciences鈥 art competition at the 精品SM在线影片.听

The competition, open to all in the college, drew submissions from across the disciplines, from art to astronomy, and educational levels, from incoming first-year students to PhD candidates.

Judged by a panel of experts on creativity, technique and relevance, these winners rose above the rest. They are:

  1. Jennifer Washabaugh
  2. Jassim Almossalam听
  3. Marcella Marsella

As the first, second and third place winners, respectively, these three will be featured in the college鈥檚 annual print magazine, on the website, and will receive a cash prize of $200, $100 and $50 for first, second and third places, respectively.

For Washabaugh, the first-place winner, what the liberal arts meant was personal:

鈥淎s a dyslexic thinker, my brain primarily relies on visualizations and imagery to understand and process information,鈥 Washabaugh said in an explanation that accompanied her submission. 鈥淥ne of my favorite parts of research is figuring out the best way to visualize results and study designs. I think of it as more of an art project than a statistical chore. Outside of academics, I love to explore these creative realms in my head by making my own art.鈥

The winning pieces include:

Perspectives

First Place: Perspectives

Artist: Jennifer Washabaugh

Major: Anthropology (Biological Anthropology sub-discipline)

Year of studies: PhD Candidate (sixth year)

Washabaugh graduated from the University of Michigan in 2015 with a BS in evolutionary anthropology and minor in women鈥檚 studies. She then joined the graduate program in the Department of Anthropology at 精品SM在线影片, where she completed her MA in 2017, and is a PhD candidate working with Robin Bernstein, associate professor of anthropology. Her dissertation research focuses on the physiological connections between mother and offspring, with a particular focus on human milk bioactive composition, impacts of early life nutritional environments, and infant gut microbial ecology.听

Curious Elder

Second Place: Curious Elder

Artist: 闯补蝉蝉颈尘听础濒尘辞蝉蝉补濒补尘

Major: Exploratory Studies

Almossalam is a transfer exploratory studies student at 精品SM在线影片. He is planning to pursue a degree in architectural engineering. He is originally from Qatar and has been sketching for almost 10 years and oil painting for one year. He was inspired by mother, who, he says, 鈥渋s responsible of where I am today as an artist.鈥

Devotion

Third Place: Devotion

Artist: Marcella Marsella

Major: Painting and Drawing

Year of Studies:听First year MFA candidate

Before arriving in Colorado, Marcella Marsella's professional career was diverse to say听the least; her roles included line cook at Pizza Hut, zombie in a haunted prison Halloween tour, paddleboat听operator at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, and nude model at too many locales to count. She is now a first year MFA candidate in the Painting & Drawing area at 精品SM在线影片.

Time and Dream

Fourth Place: Time and Dream

Artist: Bing Huo

Major: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Year of Studies: Junior

The Turtles Can't Tell

Fifth Place: The Turtles Can鈥檛 Tell

Artist: Katie Waldon

Major: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Year of Studies: Transfer student, Junior