Prism Art Gallery displays sophomores’ photography of what JMU means to them
Posted on March 31, 2008
Students may have noticed the slide show of pictures that has been running on the Current Students’ page of the JMU Web site, but are not aware of who takes these photographs or why they are there.
PictureIT!JMU is an organization where we take pictures of JMU and Harrisonburg and share our experiences,” said Alex Concilus, a sophomore SMAD major from Yorktown, Va.
The PictureIT!JMU project celebrated its opening display on Wednesday in the Prism Gallery located on the lower level of The Festival Conference and Student Center.
The 18 students involved in the organization are diverse in both their interests and their photography skills. Frank Doherty, the Director of Institutional Research and the man who runs the project, said he heard of the idea eight years ago at a conference. He decided to begin the program with incoming freshmen two years ago when he was able to obtain an innovation grant from the Division of Student Affairs and University Planning.
“Virtually all the data we collect about students are quantitative, but there is a lot that those numbers can’t tell us,” Doherty said. “One of the reasons for this project is to learn about what it is like to be an undergraduate at JMU.”
The students are encouraged to take pictures of what JMU means to them. It helps the faculty and staff members see through the eyes of JMU students, while it also allows the participants to make and keep memories through their photographs.
The gallery displays three photographs from each student along with a description about themselves and what they have learned from the project. The pictures on display vary from roommates, to road trips, to the enormous amount of steps leading up from Bridgeforth Stadium.
“I transferred from a small community college and the one thing that really hit me here at JMU was the people. Everyone was willing to help me and the pictures really reflect the feeling of the people,” said Rodrick Rigden, a sophomore industrial design major from Boyce, Va., who attended the function to support his friend’s photographs.
Trevor Wilhelms, a sophomore theater major from Roanoke, Va., found out about the PictureIT! JMU Project through an e-mail sent out the summer before his freshman year began.
“It mentioned how you could move in a day early, which is what really caught my eye at first,” Wilhelms said. “Then I read the rest of the e-mail and I’m glad I responded.”
Wilhelms believes that the project has made him more willing to explore JMU.
“I have definitely gone to some new places to shoot the pictures and I think I look at things a little differently now,” Wilhelms said.
The PictureIT! JMU students meet one-on-one with staff in Institutional Research and in groups once a semester and discuss the 10 photographs they took that are most important to them.
At the end of the year, the students pick the pictures that best represent their year at JMU and receive a memory book containing the chosen pictures. They also receive a stipend for being involved.
“It has been an evolving process,” said Doherty. “We started with their freshman year and students wanted to continue with it so now we are going to be able to follow the same group of students until they graduate.”
Once these sophomores graduate, Doherty plans to continue the project by starting again with incoming freshman.
The pictures will be on display in the Prism Gallery until May. The pictures can also be viewed on jmu.edu.
