A Career as an Art Gallery Curator is in Rose’s Future

A career in art as a gallery curator is Rose’s calling. She’s creative, thoughtful, and observant, and is interested in inspiring others. And she knows she can do a lot in the art world with the bachelor’s degree she just got from Vermont State University, and the master’s degree she is pursuing next year.

“I know how to do every job,” she says. “My professors here taught me all of it. And I’m able to aspire to this dream because of the help I got, from VSAC and others, to get to college.”

Help from VSAC opened the door to college for Rose

Michelle Legere was Rose’s outreach counselor in VSAC’s GEAR UP program (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programming), which helps students aspire to education after high school. “Michelle believed in me,” Rose stated. “She saw what I was trying to do with my life and found a way for me to do it.”

Rose’s family life is complicated, and her home environment was often unstable. She’s an independent student—she is not supported by her parents—and Michelle helped her navigate her college applications and the financial aid process as Rose was finishing up high school at Richford Junior Senior High School. “Honestly, she was like an angel,” Rose said. “The first thing she said to me was she was here to help. I just felt like all of these possibilities were open for me after that.”

Rose was concerned about debt and figuring out how to have a future in art without taking on significant debt. “We looked at all sorts of options and scholarships to help me through college. I don’t know if I would have been able to do it without Michelle’s help and without VSAC.”

Four years as a proud Vermont State University Johnson Badger

Now, four years later, Rose graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art from Vermont State University. She is continuing on this fall in the master’s program in studio art and will be exploring opportunities to travel as she pursues the degree. “I love teaching art,” she added. “It’s so freeing and part of the MFA program is teaching a class or skill to other students. I’m really looking forward to it,” she said.

She learned a lot as an artist working as an intern at the Julian Scott Gallery on campus. She helped one of her professors, Phil Roberston, curate the art exhibits for BFA and MFA showcases this spring. That experience, coupled with the many diverse mediums and skillsets she was exposed to in the fine arts program, pushed Rose to better herself as an artist and to dream a little broader for her career.

Those experiences helped shape not only Rose’s artistic growth, but also the broader college journey that brought her to where she is today. Rose actually started in the education program at the Johnson campus, and transferred into the fine arts program. She’s proud she was able to graduate in four years, despite changing her major. She’s tried to make a difference on campus too, helping with the gardening club and starting seedlings to raise the money needed to start an on-campus community garden.

Rose also was a student athlete and a proud Johnson Badger. She threw javelin on the track and field team, and played tennis this year as well. “Being a Johnson Badger taught me what it means to be a part of a team and to come together and experience getting to support and participate in something bigger than myself,” she shared. “Seeing my teammates soar to great heights and the memories we made together, these will follow me as reminders of the great things we can accomplish when we work together.”

A medical challenge didn’t stop her

Earlier this year, Rose underwent surgery for endometriosis. She was quite sick for a lot of the year and was juggling her classwork, job, and other commitments. Worried she would drop the ball on something, she pushed herself to keep going. Her coaches and the VTSU faculty and staff were very supportive, and Rose is proud that she finished on time this spring.

She’s incredibly grateful for the help she received along the way from faculty, staff, community members, and VSAC. “VSAC went above and beyond in supporting me,” she said. She’s trying to pay it forward now, serving on the Alumni Advisory Committee for GEAR UP, and UP for Learning, to motivate others and pass on the knowledge she’s gained. “I encourage everyone I can to use VSAC’s resources,” she added. “It made a big difference for me and I want to pass on to others everything I’ve learned about scholarships and college application help that is available for Vermont students.”