Students from six South Jersey schools explore broadcasting, music, theater, digital technology and visual arts at the Galloway campus.
GALLOWAY, N.J. — A visit to Stockton University's campus may have changed the career plans of a Cedar Creek High School student who thought she wanted to pursue cosmetology.
Syenna Nguyen, a junior from Egg Harbor City, was among approximately 150 high school students who attended Stockton's inaugural Arts Day on Thursday, October 15.
After visiting the university's student radio station, WLFR, Nguyen began reconsidering her future.
"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," Nguyen said.
"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."
Her experience illustrated the purpose of the new event: introducing students to academic programs and potential careers they may not have previously considered.
Six High Schools Participate
Students attended from Cedar Creek, Oakcrest, Absegami, Hammonton, Chartertech High School for the Performing Arts and the Burlington County Institute of Technology at Medford.
The event featured interactive workshops in Communication Studies, Digital Studies, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts.
Ian Marshall, dean of Stockton's School of Arts and Humanities, said the university wanted to give prospective students a firsthand look at what studying the arts and humanities involves.
"We want to create a culture of arts and humanities in the high schools, just like the Dance program did," Marshall 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."
Marshall said Arts Day grew out of Stockton's longstanding Experience Dance Day program, which was held separately on October 16.
Students Become Television Anchors
One of the day's highlights took place inside Stockton's new Media Lab in the recently renovated Richard E. Bjork Library and Learning Commons.
Oakcrest High School juniors Charles Donckers and Michael Boruch, both from Mays Landing, took turns playing television news anchors during a simulated broadcast of "Stockton News."
The students sat behind an anchor desk under studio lights, reading from a teleprompter operated by a classmate.
Other participants worked behind the scenes, operating cameras and managing the broadcast's audio and video.
"It was great to see all their equipment and what Stockton offers," Donckers said. "The day was nice to see what it's like to be a student here."
Boruch said the experience reinforced his interest in pursuing a media-related career.
"I really liked learning how things operate, especially for someone who wants to do something like this in the future," he said.
"Stockton is definitely on my list because it's close to home."
Art, Technology and Theater Come Together
The hands-on activities extended well beyond the broadcasting studio.
Digital Studies faculty introduced students to the process of creating an app, while Visual Arts participants made cyanotypes, a photographic printing technique that uses light-sensitive materials to create distinctive images.
Students used leaves and other natural objects collected outdoors to produce their artwork.
In Stockton's Experimental Theatre, participants learned how an original musical is developed.
The workshops gave students opportunities to interact with university faculty, meet current students and experience college learning environments.
"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.
Keeping Local Talent in South Jersey
For some participating educators, the event offered another benefit: showing students that they can pursue creative and technical careers without leaving the region.
Michael Piotrowski, who teaches television production and media studies at Absegami High School, welcomed the new initiative.
"A lot of these kids might not want to go very far and stay closer to home," Piotrowski said.
"If they like what they do in my classes, hopefully they can just come to Stockton where they can flourish."
Stockton officials hope Arts Day will become an ongoing opportunity for high school students to discover academic interests, meet faculty and explore possible careers.
For Nguyen, that discovery may already be underway.
What began as a day of exploring campus programs ended with a new possibility for her future — one involving microphones, radio equipment and communications rather than the cosmetology career she had originally envisioned.
