I can’t believe I’m wrapping up my final blog!!  The semester has flown by.  I’ve been amazingly busy, but somehow this semester feels fluid in that my interests are seeming to come together.  Although I’ve had many stressful days and felt overwhelmed by my workload, I’ve really loved it.  Somehow, it has all worked out - and I think it is distinctly because I feel that each piece has found its place in my life, whether significant or small.  I am graduating, and applying for a graduate program at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA.  I’ve known for some time that I want to take my love and passion for art into some sort of career in service.  It was a confusing conundrum at first, because I knew I loved art.. I knew I wanted to get a BA in Studio Art.. but I didn’t have the drive to get an MFA or to have any sort of career as a practicing artist.  Although I love art and will actively pursue doing art for the rest of my life, I also felt overwhelmingly compelled to social service; I want to help others.

When I first read about the Masters in Education in Community Art at Lesley, I felt that the program was written for me.  It truly inspired me and drew me in.  It was exactly the liaison between my two orientations, art and service.  Ever since I made the decision to apply and attend, if I can, I’ve felt like my remaining undergraduate studies have been working clearly toward that goal.  This internship class has absolutely been the highlight of that ‘gravitiational’ pull.  Working at AMOA has allowed me to see how loving art doesn’t necessarily coincide with creating art.  I can express my passion for the arts in a different way: by bringing art to others and working to spread art into broader spaces.  I am so very thankful for all of the valuable experience and lessons that working at AMOA has granted me, and I feel motivated and inspired in my future.  I send out a heartfelt thank you to Mary, Eric, and everyone who made this class as important as it has become.