CAS CONNECT 2017

16 “It’s been great to have younger students come here onto a college campus, into the classroom, and experience this kind of learn- ing environment that will prepare them for their future education,” Ramsay says. It’s not just the SAA students who are receiving an education. OSU art students volunteer to assist instructors, gaining valu- able experiences of their own. For many OSU students, this is what they would like to do as a career — teach art. At the Summer Art Academy, they learn teaching tech- niques and instructional methods in a classroom setting. Teaching junior high and high school begin- ners and teaching undergraduate college classes are not so different, according to Ramsay. “When you show students some- thing that they didn’t know before and as they practice, gain confi- dence and technical knowledge, it’s a night-and-day transformation in the classroom,” Ramsay says. “You can see the joy in their eyes as they realize, ‘I’m getting this.’” One of the SAA courses, “Around the World in Ten Days,” introduces students to the art of various global civilizations, utiliz- ing exhibits within the OSU Museum of Art, the Gardiner Art Gallery and the Stillwater Center for the Arts. “The course is a great opportu- nity to share resources and create a stronger collaborative effort within the Stillwater community,” Ramsay says. A few examples of the artwork created by students of the SAA jewelry making class. PHOTO BY CHRIS RAMSAY