Student Rediscovers Love of Art by Helping Band
by Sonya Minner
It’s common for college seniors to be unsure of themselves; when graduation looms, it’s easy for them to doubt what they’ve been working so hard toward for four — or more — years.
For Lydia Karlheim of Penn Hills, 22, her last year at California University of Pennsylvania has been about getting back what she thought she had lost.
For four years, she’s worked towards her graphic design degree, and in May she will graduate with her bachelor of science degree in graphic design. A degree doesn’t mean solid plans for the future, however, and Karlheim learned that the hard way.
As a student, Karlheim had been working diligently, project after project after project, toward her degree. Last year, her seemingly solid plans for her future took a turn for the worse.
“After I took Graphic Design 1 and 2 a year ago, going into the summer, I was kind of questioning my major. I ended up with a D in that class [Graphic Design 2] when I had been getting A’s and B’s in my design classes,” Karlheim said. “I didn’t know if I wanted to do graphic design anymore.”
She was feeling overwhelmed, just as many college seniors do, and she wasn’t sure where to turn. Her parents were more than supportive of her blossoming art career.
“We like to make sure Lydia has everything she needs without worrying about where the money will come from,” said Karlheim’s mother, Mary.
Karlheim’s parents were supporting her, but their medical background limited their understanding of how she was struggling. Karlheim felt their support, but she needed inspiration and a solid plan for her future.
She needed direction, and she wasn’t sure where to get it from. During the week, at school, she was bogged down by all of the projects she had to do for her classes.
“Last year, our apartment was always covered with painting supplies and canvases. Lydia was constantly working on a new project,” Karlheim’s roommate for the past two years, Leighann Dominick, 20, said.
On the weekend, Karlheim was busy with work. She received reassurance in her abilities when she was accepted into the graphic design program at Cal her sophomore year, but she felt her confidence being slowly chipped away the further into the semester she got.
“It was a big boost of confidence getting into GD 1, but the professor had different ways of teaching than my last design class. It was more discussion-based, ” Karlheim said. “He talked the whole time, and it was frustrating, because then I wasn’t producing anything.”
Her lack of production in class led to the slump she felt outside of her classes last year. Suddenly, Karlheim wasn’t sure what she was going to do with the rest of her life because suddenly, graphic design didn’t seem like the place for her anymore.
It wasn’t until she was able to take a break from her schoolwork and her art projects at school that Karlheim was able to really open her eyes and look toward her future.
“After this winter, I was working on stuff for the band [Katie Hate] that I do stuff for. I kind of got more excited to go back and do my portfolio,” Karlheim said. Once her excitement returned, Karlheim knew exactly what she wanted to do after graduation.
“Just this semester, I feel like everything’s clicked for me. It’s sort of a mix between graphic design and fine arts,” Karlheim said.
She knows she has to get an internship — that’s her first step — but after that, she wants to go out on her own and start her own business.
She knows she will have to pay her dues and work under an internship first, and that’s what she intends to do immediately after graduation. However, once she’s gained some hands-on experience, Karlheim would like to open her own studio — but with a twist.
“I feel like I get inspired by a whole bunch of different things. I like it all, and I’m interested in it all. I would love to have a [photography] studio, and I would love to have jewelry and furniture, all of these different things for sale along with it,” Karlheim explained.
Karlheim just wants to create art, and now she’s working towards that goal with graduation looming just around the corner.
“The thing that makes me want to do art is turning nothing into something,” Karlheim said. “I want to do that. I want to take old furniture and turn it into something new, something great. I want to create.”
Sonya Minner is a California University of Pennsylvania English major. See her website here.
It’s common for college seniors to be unsure of themselves; when graduation looms, it’s easy for them to doubt what they’ve been working so hard toward for four — or more — years.
For Lydia Karlheim of Penn Hills, 22, her last year at California University of Pennsylvania has been about getting back what she thought she had lost.
For four years, she’s worked towards her graphic design degree, and in May she will graduate with her bachelor of science degree in graphic design. A degree doesn’t mean solid plans for the future, however, and Karlheim learned that the hard way.
As a student, Karlheim had been working diligently, project after project after project, toward her degree. Last year, her seemingly solid plans for her future took a turn for the worse.
“After I took Graphic Design 1 and 2 a year ago, going into the summer, I was kind of questioning my major. I ended up with a D in that class [Graphic Design 2] when I had been getting A’s and B’s in my design classes,” Karlheim said. “I didn’t know if I wanted to do graphic design anymore.”
She was feeling overwhelmed, just as many college seniors do, and she wasn’t sure where to turn. Her parents were more than supportive of her blossoming art career.
“We like to make sure Lydia has everything she needs without worrying about where the money will come from,” said Karlheim’s mother, Mary.
Karlheim’s parents were supporting her, but their medical background limited their understanding of how she was struggling. Karlheim felt their support, but she needed inspiration and a solid plan for her future.
She needed direction, and she wasn’t sure where to get it from. During the week, at school, she was bogged down by all of the projects she had to do for her classes.
“Last year, our apartment was always covered with painting supplies and canvases. Lydia was constantly working on a new project,” Karlheim’s roommate for the past two years, Leighann Dominick, 20, said.
On the weekend, Karlheim was busy with work. She received reassurance in her abilities when she was accepted into the graphic design program at Cal her sophomore year, but she felt her confidence being slowly chipped away the further into the semester she got.
“It was a big boost of confidence getting into GD 1, but the professor had different ways of teaching than my last design class. It was more discussion-based, ” Karlheim said. “He talked the whole time, and it was frustrating, because then I wasn’t producing anything.”
Her lack of production in class led to the slump she felt outside of her classes last year. Suddenly, Karlheim wasn’t sure what she was going to do with the rest of her life because suddenly, graphic design didn’t seem like the place for her anymore.
It wasn’t until she was able to take a break from her schoolwork and her art projects at school that Karlheim was able to really open her eyes and look toward her future.
“After this winter, I was working on stuff for the band [Katie Hate] that I do stuff for. I kind of got more excited to go back and do my portfolio,” Karlheim said. Once her excitement returned, Karlheim knew exactly what she wanted to do after graduation.
“Just this semester, I feel like everything’s clicked for me. It’s sort of a mix between graphic design and fine arts,” Karlheim said.
She knows she has to get an internship — that’s her first step — but after that, she wants to go out on her own and start her own business.
She knows she will have to pay her dues and work under an internship first, and that’s what she intends to do immediately after graduation. However, once she’s gained some hands-on experience, Karlheim would like to open her own studio — but with a twist.
“I feel like I get inspired by a whole bunch of different things. I like it all, and I’m interested in it all. I would love to have a [photography] studio, and I would love to have jewelry and furniture, all of these different things for sale along with it,” Karlheim explained.
Karlheim just wants to create art, and now she’s working towards that goal with graduation looming just around the corner.
“The thing that makes me want to do art is turning nothing into something,” Karlheim said. “I want to do that. I want to take old furniture and turn it into something new, something great. I want to create.”
Sonya Minner is a California University of Pennsylvania English major. See her website here.