Deciding to study art can be an intimidating step for any artist. Zoe Head, a sophomore at the University of North Georgia, speaks about how her decision to pursue an art degree altered her college career.

Zoe Head has found herself at a school that she never imagined she would attend. Zoe, a quirky and creative sophomore, began her college career in an entirely different state with no intention of leaving.

She originally decided to attend Clemson University. Clemson offered the full “college experience” with a winning football team and a lively college town. Zoe was a member of the marching band and involved on campus. It seemed like she had made the perfect choice, but it wasn’t long before she realized Clemson wasn’t for her.

Zoe noticed that Clemson prioritizes degrees like engineering and agriculture. At a school where research was the objective, the arts got left behind. Faculty was required to conduct research to maintain their position. According to Zoe, this drastically impacted her experience as a student. Research took time away from the students. Her teachers didn’t have the chance to get to know her and work with her individually. She was beginning to lose interest in her classes and in creating. In the spring, Zoe decided that she could no longer be somewhere that didn’t foster creativity. Even though Clemson had given her friends and the experiences she desired, a program that was not focused on its students was not a program that she could be successful in. So, Zoe decided she needed to transfer.

Moving wasn’t an easy choice but according to her mother, Laura Head, “Zoe is a confident young woman and I know that she will succeed wherever she lands…When Zoe invests herself in something creative, watch out, incredible things will happen.”

Zoe transferred to a school closer to home with the initial goal to move again to the University of Georgia. She hopes to end up working in the blossoming movie industry in Atlanta. She is currently at the University of North Georgia and has been pleasantly surprised with their art program. Here, at a much smaller school, the teachers jobs are reliant on student evaluations rather than research. She says that her teachers at UNG are far more “invested in their students.” Her instructors take a personal interest in her and her classmates, making her feel creatively empowered and interested in the classwork.

Zoe feels more at home at her new school. She used to feel that she had to defend her choice to study art, but here, no area of study is seen as more valuable than another. Zoe says, “There is a false dichotomy between the arts and sciences. Both require creative and analytic ways of thinking. Science and art are completely intertwined… Talking down to the arts is holding our culture back… Our greatest strength is our diversity.”

By: Madeline Robinson