Galloway, N.J. — Syenna Nguyen thought she wanted to study cosmetology after graduating from Cedar Creek High School.

But the inaugural Stockton University Arts Day on Oct. 15 may have changed the junior’s plans.

“I had a lot of fun. I really enjoyed going to the radio station and seeing all the physical media at WLFR. Just being there was just so cool and immersive,” said the Egg Harbor City resident. “I was going to do hair and makeup, but this honestly has changed my mind a little bit. I might look into the communications programs they offer here.”

Communication Studies was one of several academic programs featuring workshops at the event, including Digital Studies, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts. About 150 students attended from six high schools, including Cedar Creek, Oakcrest, Absegami, the Burlington County Institute of Technology at Medford, Hammonton and the Chartertech High School for the Performing Arts.

The event was designed to introduce prospective students to Stockton's Arts and Humanities programs through interactive workshops and giving them a chance to see the “beauty of the Galloway campus,” said Ian Marshall, dean of the School of Arts and Humanities. Marshall said the idea evolved from Stockton’s longstanding Experience Dance Day, which was held separately on Oct.16.

“We want to create a culture of arts and humanities in the high schools, just like the Dance program did,” he said. “We want this to be a concentrated experience for high schoolers who may not know exactly what they want to do. We want to give them a taste of what they would be doing if they came to Stockton.”

Digital Studies talked to students in the newly renovated Richard E. Bjork Library and Learning Commons about how to create an app. In the Art Gallery, Visual Arts made cyanotypes, a photographic printing technique, from leaves and other natural items found outside. In the university’s Experimental Theatre, students learned how an original musical is created.

“You can get face time with our faculty. You’re going to meet some of our advanced students. You’re going to go into some classroom settings and see what current students are working on,” Marshall said.

For a few minutes, juniors Charles Donckers and Michael Boruch from Oakcrest got the chance to be “the talent” for a simulated broadcast of “Stockton News” in the new Media Lab. They sat at the anchor desk under bright studio lights and read lines from a teleprompter controlled by a classmate. Other students operated cameras and managed the audio and video broadcast in the studio.

“It was great to see all their equipment and what Stockton offers,” said Donckers of Mays Landing. “The day was nice to see what it’s like to be a student here.”

“I really liked learning how things operate, especially for someone who wants to do something like this in the future,” said Boruch, of Mays Landing. “Stockton is definitely on my list because it’s close to home.”

Michael Piotrowski teaches TV production and media studies at Absegami. He was thrilled Stockton introduced Arts Day this year and hopes it continues in the future.

“A lot of these kids might not want to go very far and stay closer to home,” he said. “If they like what they do in my classes, hopefully they can just come to Stockton where they can flourish.”

-- Story by Mark Melhorn, photos by Susan Allen

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