2014 Service Learning Symposium

On Friday, March 21st, 2014, MIAD welcomed Mary Osmundsen and Jeanette Arellano as guest speakers in its thirteenth annual Service Learning Symposium.

Jeanette Arellano is currently the Latino Outreach and Education Coordinator with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Greater Milwaukee. She assists the Latino Community by informing them on strategies to avoid the stigmas of mental illness through a series of creative presentations, workshops and programs.

Jeanette’s passion for nonprofits has kept her involved for 7 years with programs such as NAMI’s Creativity Heals, Public Allies, Arts at Large and the Sherman Neighborhood Arts Initiative Program, Artists Working in Education (A.W.E.) and Rogers Street Academy After School Arts Program. Jeanette currently participates in the Milwaukee Latino Health Coalition, sits as a student representative on the board of the American Civil Liberties Union, and on the board of the Jazz Gallery Center for the Arts. In 2013 she was recognized as Wisconsin’s first Bilingual Wellness Recovery Action Plan certified facilitator. Jeanette received her BFA in Integrated Studio Arts from MIAD in 2010.

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Mary Osmundsen is Program Officer at the Helen Bader Foundation(HBF), managing its $1.5 million in grants annually for stronger out-of-school time opportunities for Milwaukee youth. Prior to HBF, Osmundsen was the Program Director at Artists Working in Education (A.W.E.), managing artist-in-residence programs in urban schools across the city of Milwaukee as well as Assistant Director of Admissions at MIAD, specializing in recruiting and counseling transfer and non-traditional students. She holds an MFA in Intermedia from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a BFA in photography from MIAD. Osmundsen is a working artist with a studio in the Fifth Ward. Her work has been exhibited locally and internationally in France, Germany, and China.

Arellano and Osmundsen discussed their visual arts background and their participation in the Milwaukee community during a panel discussion moderated by the Director of Service Learning, Leslie Fedorchuk. We were honored that they could join us.

Service Learning Award

Along with the guest panel, the symposium also featured the presentation of the Service Learning Award. MIAD senior, Chelsea Beiler, received the Service Learning Award for her outstanding work with birds of prey at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center.

During her time with Schlitz Audubon, Chelsea enthusiastically investigated her love of these birds, and the connections between art and science, which she intends to further pursue by becoming a scientific illustrator.

Community Partner Award

The Service Learning Department also gave out an award for a community partner providing particularly wonderful service in conjunction with the student award. At this year’s symposium we honored the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center. Ellen Schneiderman, a raptor specialist and educator at the organization accepted the award on its behalf.