Queensborough and Queens College Team Up For QC VAPA Transfer Day
One thing students commonly struggle with is how to most effectively translate their classroom knowledge into future opportunities.
Queensborough understands this dilemma.
And so, the Visual & Performing Arts (VAPA) Academy confronted this issue last Wednesday with Queens College VAPA Transfer Day, an event designed to encourage Queensborough VAPA students to transfer to Queens College after graduation.
"The event is meant to give QCC VAPA students a glimpse of the Visual and Performing Arts opportunities that Queens College offers.” said music professor and one of the event organizers Steven Dahlke.
To that end, attending students weren’t just merely told of the opportunities Queens College offers, but witnessed it with first-hand performances and exhibitions by Queens College musicians, theatre students, dance students, and visuals arts students.
And to reinforce just how rewarding such a transfer path could be for our students, some of the visiting Queens College students were Queensborough graduates.
One such student was Justin Elliot.
"I am currently enrolled in Queens College after transferring here last January,” Elliot stated. “I came here after getting my associate degree at Queensborough Community College, where I majored in Digital Design. I started graphic design in high school after designing a YouTube channel banner for myself and realizing my interest in the topic. I’ve never really had any access to digital design before college as none of my previous schools had design classes or clubs."
Though not a Queensborough alum, another standout was Julia Jihae Ching.
Ching is a second-year undergraduate singer studying with Dr. Sherry Overholt, and has been performing since high school. While she sings in a variety of genres, she’s particularly notable for her opera performances, having roles including: Balthazar in Menotti's “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” Harry in Britten's “Albert Herring,” La Maestra delle Novizie in Puccini's “Suor Angelica,” and the chorus in Humperdinck's “Hansel and Gretel.”
With such impressive students showing what they’ve achieved since enrolling at Queens College, Dahlke (as well as participating QC VAPA administrators and professors) hope Queensborough VAPA students will use that as a source of inspiration for their own success.
“I hope attending students are inspired to get everything they can out of their VAPA education, and begin to plan for the next step of their education — consider all that Queens College has to offer!”
And judging by the comments from the attendees, such as Music Performance Major Julissa Walker, they certainly did.
“I thought the event was absolutely amazing! Seeing the singers up there was very inspiring, and I hopefully do intend on continuing my academic career at Queens College.”
Digital Art and Design Major Mia Fernandez was similarly inspired.
“Some of the art looked really cool. I’m more interested in animation, but what they showed here was really awesome. The singers and dancers were really talented, they seemed very cool and nice
As was Performing Arts Major Isabela Lo Destro, though she remained on the fence about whether she would transfer to Queens College in the future.
“I was really inspired by the dance — their movements, their choreography was really beautiful and moving,” said Performing Arts major Isabela lo Destro. “And the vocalists, their voices were so pure and powerful; while the artists’ work was very spoken for and you can easily see what they were picturing in their minds.”
It’s worth noting that while this event was specifically for the benefit of our VAPA students, Queensborough’s endeavors to inspire its students isn’t exclusive to the VAPA Academy — other academies will be undertaking similar efforts.
“The college wants to let students know what all our Academies offer so that students can be inspired to engage with all the learning and enrichment opportunities the QCC provides, and VAPA is one of them,” Dahlke said.
In fact, the department of Biological Sciences and Geology already did so when it hosted an event titled Connecting Careers to Biology and Health-Related Majors last month.
Circling back to this event though, it wasn’t just Queensborough’s students who got something out of it — Queens College did too.
Recent figures reveal that Queens College has seen a decline in student enrollment, and are amid efforts to improve numbers to 2015 levels. One such effort is the Better Neighbors Initiative, which is designed to strengthen its relationship with Queensborough (and LaGuardia Community College).
That isn’t to say the institutions don’t already have a strong relationship (Queensborough has historically provided Queens College with many transfer students), but VAPA Transfer Day serves as an effective means to further strengthen that relationship.
As such, an event such as this benefits everyone involved — Queens College, Queensborough, and, most importantly, the students.
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