Alexis Garcia

This is a photo of me at the Albert Memorial in London. This was taken during my GEO Study Abroad trip in September 2019 where I had the chance to visit some of the most famous museums in the world!

Degree: BA in Art History and Anthropology, Minor in Korean and Classical Civilization

Expected Graduation Date: Spring 2021

I’m From: San Antonio, TX

Why I Came to the UO and How I Chose My Major
I chose the University of Oregon because I wanted a chance to become independent and capable of making it on my own in a new location. At the time, I was pursuing anthropology as my primary major and was drawn by the program. Now I am pursuing art history as my main focus and the College of Design has provided amazing faculty support and interesting classes!

I committed to pursuing art history after visiting the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. I had been interested in art history and making art has been a personal hobby for numerous years. After visiting the museum, I had a realization that museum work was what I ultimately wanted to do with my life.

Unique Qualities I Bring to My Studies
I spent most of my childhood moving around to different parts of the United States and even lived for some years abroad, as both my parents were part of the United States Air Force. As such, I had a lot of personal experience interacting and living around people with different cultures from my own. Due to this, I feel like I have a lot of experience with respectfully interacting with people who have different beliefs from me and the importance of cultural exchange! I take this skill with me into the classroom while listening to other students and professors.

My Influential Professors
I have had numerous influential professors here at the UO. However, in regards to the College of Design, I believe the most influential professor I have had is Professor Kris Seaman. I have had her for three classes now, and as someone that is minoring in Classical Civilizations, her insight on Classical Greek and Roman art has been invaluable. I also took ARH 300 with her and she imparted a great deal of knowledge about the process of art historical writing which I plan to take with me as I will be writing a senior thesis for the art history honors program this academic year.

My Greatest Learning Experience at UO
During my sophomore year, I was part of the Nomad Mentorship program. This is part of the COLT department and it taught a cohort of undergraduate students how to write a literary paper worthy of publication. My paper was published in their Undergraduate Journal with the rest of my cohort at the end of the year. I learned a great deal about the process of writing, editing, and crafting a solid argument.

After Graduation
I plan to attend graduate school to pursue a Master’s and eventually a PhD! I hope to one day work as a curator for a museum and uplift artists and their voices.

Your Gift
I am thrilled to be receiving this scholarship as it will be directly contributing to my studies and keep me on track to graduating this upcoming Spring.

Thank you! I deeply appreciate being awarded this scholarship and I am grateful that you are supporting me and my goals.