They’ll bring arts interests to college
Published 1:22 pm Monday, June 4, 2018
By Ken Stickney
NEDERLAND — Katarina Tran said she loves the thought of studying forensic chemistry at Lamar University next year. But she won’t leave her flute at home; she’ll minor in music.
Mason Munoz is intent on studying aerospace engineering at Texas A&M come the fall. But he said he would play percussion, too, in A&M’s wind symphony.
Tran, Munoz and 10 other Nederland graduates were honored Thursday as Nederland fine arts graduates who’ll make the transition to college while continuing to study or participate in the fine arts, as they did in high school.
Renée Kloes of the fine arts department said Thursday this is the first year Nederland High has recognized dance, drill team, visual arts, theater and music graduating seniors who will take their interests to college next year. It won’t be the last.
Nederland has always recognized its powerhouse athletic programs, she said, but the school is “equally as strong in the arts.”
She said counting all arts classes, some 700 or 800 students study arts at Nederland. There are fewer, but nonetheless many students who take multiple and continuing arts classes and participate in arts activities throughout high school.
Taking that next step to studying or pursuing arts in college is challenging, Kloes said. Oftentimes, students must submit portfolios, tapes or audition live to get into arts programs.
“It’s a rigorous process,” she said.
“This is a first for us, a very special day,” Nederland Principal Steven Beagle said in brief comments to about 75 people — faculty, students and parents — gathered in the school library to honor the students. “Sometimes we forget to recognize the talent in our fine arts program. But they are deserving of the accolades they get.”
Julian Garcia, who has taken advanced courses in painting, said early in high school he identified his interest in art and determined he wanted to pursue arts study and an arts career — design, animation or other visual arts.
He’ll take his interests to Lamar State College Port Arthur and eventually share his passion for the arts with others, perhaps through teaching.
Garcia’s parents, Ronaldo and Emma Garcia, said they were supportive of their son’s choice of the arts and “excited” he was headed to college.
“We’re very proud of him,” they said.
Josh Carrizal identified his interest in acting as a freshman, and wants to purse that in college. He’ll attend Tyler Junior College next year. He auditioned for acting parts at the behest of an eighth-grade teacher, and “never realized how much I’d love it.”
Visual arts teacher Michael Crommett said it’s a treat to teach advanced art students, some of whom are naturally gifted and all of whom “have chosen to be there.”
Next year, he said, fine arts should have additional students.
“Hopefully, this is something that will grow,” he said.
Tran and Munoz said their study of music would help their study of the sciences.
“Music is science,” Munoz said, and both said the processing of both arts and sciences occurs in the same part of the brain.
“Strong math and science students enjoy the arts,” Kloes said. “If you’re going to be good in the arts, you need a science/math brain.”
