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Wednesday, November 21, 2012

MLK Spotlight - Brooke: Looking back on a semester abroad in Buenos Aires

Brooke is a junior in the MLK Program, majoring in Political Science. This fall she is studying abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina. As she wraps up the semester, she shared with us a few pictures and looks back on her experience so far. This post is part of the MLK Spotlight, a regular feature on our blog. The goal is to highlight MLK student (or staff) stories, experiences, and perspectives. Have something you'd like to share? Send an email to mlkdesk@umn.edu, or ask your adviser!



"So why did you choose Argentina?" Sitting opposite my host mother, Maria, in her antique-adorned apartment for the first time, this question seemed nearly impossible to answer. Had I really just spent an entire semester filing out countless study abroad applications, returning email after email, and attending numerous meetings without once taking the time to ask myself why? Staring back at Maria, unable to formulate any reason, it had appeared so.
Prior to coming to Buenos Aires, I had virtually no idea of what I was getting myself into. Despite the fact that I'd studied all of the informational emails, done my fair share of browsing the Internet, and even read a variety of travel blogs, I arrived to Buenos Aires on a cold Saturday morning with no inkling of what I'd be walking away with three months later. Now as I am rapidly approaching my last weeks in the city I've come to call home, I am rushing to do, see, taste, and feel everything before it is time to board my flight back to the U.S.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

MLK Spotlight - Xiaolu: Creating art and telling stories through HECUA

Xiaolu is a junior majoring in Studies in Cinema and Media Culture. Last year, she was part of the HECUA City Arts Program (now known as Art for Social Change), which explores the role of artists in the social change movement and the engagement of art in our communities. She is interested in editing short videos and making promo videos for different organizations, and she recently found her passion in animation which expands the magic of film for her. Read about Xiaolu's experience with HECUA below, and check out the videos she created as part of her program. This post is part of the MLK Spotlight, a regular feature on our blog. The goal is to highlight MLK student (or staff) stories, experiences, and perspectives. Have something you'd like to share? Send an email to mlkdesk@umn.edu, or ask your adviser!

Often times, I doubt my ability to make films and to become an artist that tells inspiring stories. On a daily basis, I struggle to find the connection between my college education and the real world. But HECUA made all of it work. A small-seminar style class created an incredible support that each of us needed, and through the four months of engaging, creating and critiquing what we learned, I walked away from the experience with more humbleness for learning. Everyone is a teacher and everyone is a learner in the HECUA community, the perspectives we trade push us to be tolerant of each other's differences, but intolerant of social injustice. I don't necessarily think that I created 'better' art during HECUA, but I really appreciate the fact that I had time to make art, thus living a expressive life. It is the 'art of making' rejuvenates my energy to explore what is it that I want out of my education.