Student perspective: FIU does a good job of supporting its creatives

Heidi Cuevas | Assistant Opinion Director

No matter where you are in college, it’s never too late to take advantage of the opportunities FIU offers, particularly for CARTA students.

Whenever I mention that I’m an English major I’m met with the same question – what are you going to do with that?

It’s difficult to major in something that is not immediately viewed as a money-making career and I know I’m not the only one or the only major who gets comments like these.

Majors such as art, communications, humanities, and theater are only a few of the many that seem to never get a second thought from many. However, at FIU there is an open appreciation for the work these students accomplish.

FIU embraces their artists in one form or another and the opportunities are worth all the hardship we face.

Opportunities from FIU alone are plentiful ranging from internships, campus jobs, open houses, trips, or panels dedicated to students. Specifically for FIU artists or humanities majors, the chance to be publicized, recognized or an immersive experience of their desired career in action is always happening at FIU.

The most recent is the Wertheim Music Festival which offers student musicians a hands-on learning experience by learning how to prepare, produce, and manage a festival with guidance from professionals.  

For FIU theater students, the equivalent is the opportunity to be in one of the four to five plays that the department produces. This is a great way for students to get a preview of what their career entails since they are given the position of performing, designing, and building the stage. 

The upcoming production of “Pericles” which is set to begin Nov.10 has been advertised all over campus. This is how FIU embraces its arts students and can be effective most of the time.

Then there’s the magazine “Sleep Walking” that the Humanities Edge and FIU Department of English partnered with which has become a platform for both artists and writers a chance to enter one of their works to be included in their issues. 

This magazine includes work that varies from realistic to abstract art and poems to short stories. This can be reassuring since many of us tend to hesitate to submit a piece because we don’t know if it’s what they’re looking for. However that isn’t an issue here, there is minimal preference which allows students to submit a piece they are particularly proud of.

It’s reassuring to know that our university does not hide artists in the shadows of other majors and has career-specific opportunities for students to take advantage of throughout the year.