Student feature – Nicole Leclair
About Nicole
Nicole Leclair is a senior at RIT and is studying Visual Media. She is from the “quiet corner” of Connecticut. She is interested in the history of photography, museum studies, imaging systems, graphic design, and marketing.
What was your most challenging assignment as a photography student?
[NL] Last year, I began working on a minor in Imaging Systems. In the first class, a long-term class assignment was given asking us to create a book that would include everything that had been covered in the first course of the three course sequence. As I mastered the material, the challenge became how to interpret it for a textbook using original photographs, graphics, and text. My peers and I initially felt overwhelmed. It was challenging to simply understand the topics and to complete short-term assignments. We also had to learn Adobe InDesign® and to create the content for the book. Over the course of the semester, I selected my best and most fitting images that could serve as effective content, I created explanatory graphics, and I designed my very first book layout. I quickly learned in the thick of things that this project required a lot of planning, revisions, and time management. As I look back at what we did in this class, I see things that I would like to change. I am however, very proud of the work that was accomplished. More importantly, I am grateful for all of the new skills there were gained in production of this assignment.
What do you love about the school?
[NL] The Photography program and RIT as a whole, have presented me with so many opportunities for professional development. The flexibility of the Visual Media program has allowed me to take advantage of so many diverse courses. This included coursework in photography, graphic design, art history, marketing, and museum studies. I have visited many of the museums and galleries located in Rochester and I have discussed careers in the arts with a number of museum professionals. This included the museum directors from the George Eastman House and the Visual Studies Workshop. Because of these opportunities and outcomes of various courses, I have volunteered for the Rochester Historical Society and the Image Permanence Institute. These volunteer positions and my coursework have given me the skills necessary to serve as an intern for the Curator of Photography at the Princeton University Art Museum during the summer of 2013. I also served as the Associate Gallery Manager of PRESS Gallery in the summer of 2014. I am glad to have gained a diverse set of experiences in and out of the classroom, all of which have provided me with new skills and insights. I am sure they will be useful in the next phase of my professional opportunities.
Visit Niclole’s blog:
NicoleLeclair.tumblr.com
Read a blog she maintained during her internship: LetterpressAsAPublicArtProject.wordpress.com
