First-Year Students
First-Year Photo Project
During the 2007-08 school year, we were very excited to offer the First-Year Photo Project to a small group of first-year students. Having only occurred twice before (in 2004-05 and 2006-07), this first-year initiative provides new freshmen with an opportunity to document their first year of college through photography.
At the end of spring semester, each student created a final project with their favorite images, which helped to show others more about the freshman student experience. These final projects were exhibited in the Coffman Art Gallery, and currently are displayed across campus. For a preview of their photos, select any of the links below.
Assignment 1: First Days | Assignment 2: Who Are You?
Assignment 3: Show Your U | Assignment 4: Personal Development
Assignment 5: Random Photos
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The First-Year Photo Project will not be offered Fall 2008, but will return in Fall 2009.
Background: During the 2004-2005 school year, fourteen first-year students participated in a project called "Picture Your First Year". These students documented their personal transitions to the University through guided photography and journal entries that reflected their own personal identity, their future hopes and dreams, their uncertainties, and what the U of M meant to them.
Over the course of the project, the students collectively took over 500 photographs that told their stories. During the winter break, students put together a final art piece that was a final expression of what their first semester was about. These photographs were exhibited during the spring semester in the Coffman Art Gallery, in collaboration with the Visual Arts Committee of MPAC.