Edelman CCCA celebrates student achievement with spring Showcase & Recognition Day

The Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts celebrated student excellence April 27 with an awards program and displays of student work.

Filling Eynon Ballroom in the Chamberlain Student Center, top students from all the college’s majors gathered on the Saturday before Commencement to showcase projects that many had worked on all year, and to receive recognition for their hard work.

Discussing the Rowan University literary magazine glassworks, graduate student Gianna Forgen, along with senior Coney Zhang, a writing arts/biological sciences dual major, said the publication provides real world opportunities to learn the business.

Forgen said that she, like many Writing Arts students, will likely pursue an editing job after Commencement while she writes on the side, and that her glassworks experience could be invaluable.

“A lot of us want to be editors so it’s helpful to see what it’s like from the other side,” she said.

Representing South Jersey Climate News, a Rowan project documenting the environmental impact of global heating, senior journalism major Isaac Linsk said he and other students cover stories that the professional news outlets can’t, or won’t.

His work during 2023-24 included a piece about Reed’s Organic Farm & Animal Sanctuary in Egg Harbor Township and one on local food waste.

“The stories we cover are hyperlocal,” said Linsk, of Ventnor City. “I may not be able to write about the suffering of people from wildfires in Hawaii, but I can cover barrier island construction (in New Jersey) that should be limited.”

For junior Hannah Whitaker, a Biomedical Art & Visualization (BMAV) major, the showcase was an opportunity to present a slideshow of work she’s created over several semesters.

Her program, which includes a minor in biological sciences, trains students to perform at a very high level within the vast and growing intersection of art, medicine, science and technology.

In addition to her slideshow, Whitaker displayed an original poster of horse breeds and one of alpacas.

“It’s a very versatile degree,” she said. “We do 3D animation, 2D animation and various illustrations. I’ve always loved drawing and biology, and this major is about learning to display (often technical work) in a way that the general public can understand.”

Professor Amanda Almon, who created the BMAV major at Rowan after founding a similar program at the Cleveland Institute of Art, said Rowan’s program is quickly building momentum.

“We had one student in 2014, and now we have 45,” she said.

Speaking briefly before the awards portion of the program, Edelman CCCA Dean Sanford Tweedie said it’s always one of his favorite days of the year.

“Today we get to celebrate students and their achievements,” he said. “They’re advancing knowledge and preparing for their careers.”