“Creating During COVID” highlights the creative work of students during the pandemic and creates a profile outline of students in various programs. If you would like to contribute your story, please fill out this form here. Last week, students of the Screenwriting and Playwriting major shared their stories. This week, we turn to Interactive Digital Media majors.
The coursework of Interactive Digital Media majors relies heavily on technology, and there are pros and cons to spending so much time behind a screen. While isolation is necessary for safety, it stifles the creativity that many Westphal majors rely on.
Social stimulation is a great way to get new ideas and be creative, but many students, like senior Ben Schenerman, struggle to match the same energy on their own.
“I have more space to be creative, but I have less to say,” Schenerman said.
Schenerman recently released a to-do app to help people because the pandemic has removed many distractions of everyday life.
“[The app] harnesses the healing power of self-affirmations to motivate users to finish things they need to do, rather than using guilt/shame as a motivator,” Schenerman said.
Many students find themselves without the motivation to take on rigorous coursework or choose to spend their energy elsewhere.
Junior Britney Tu normally commutes to campus, but the remote learning format has allowed her to catch up on sleep and develop stronger skills, such as detailed illustrating and developing a consistent art style.
Like many looking to commemorate the pandemic, senior Abigail Stein created a “quarantine time capsule” filled with drawings and mixed media pieces.
“I look forward to looking back through it in a few years to unearth the state of my artistic mind,” Stein said.
Other students have found the long periods of time spent at home to be beneficial to their creative passions. Junior Mikayla Lisiy has spent this time working on logo design and other skills, including building her website, and freshman Paul DiGerolamo created “a traditional art piece made of a valley in the night” that showcases shading skills. Junior James Zangari enjoys producing music, but has not been able to collaborate with friends in the same manner as pre-pandemic.
With so many students showcasing many different talents and passions, it is clear that the Interactive Digital Media major has a lot to offer even away from campus.