Wright State offers many exciting events on campus during the summer for students, faculty, staff and the general public to attend. Among these events are concerts, book signings and art exhibitions.
Travis Meadows, singer/ songwriter from Nashville, Tenn., performed in the Student Union on May 20. This performance was his second at Wright State University.
Meadows came to Wright State with a story of his battle with drugs, alcohol and cancer to go along with his performance.
“He told his story of homelessness, recovery, relapse and how reaching out is actually reaching up. He performed and had an open discussion on addiction, journaling and recovery. Travis' music and story telling is beneficial in the recovery community because it tells a story of drug use and the path of recovery,” said Ryan Taylor, internship and community engagement coordinator at Wright State University.
“We hope to facilitate mutually beneficial, relatable and personal educational opportunities and experiences for students, faculty, and community members,” said Taylor.
Senior Master Sergeant Eric Combs gave a lecture and book signing at another campus event held May 21, addressing several topics such as career transitioning and the education system in the United States. Combs is retired from the United States Air Force, serving 20 years as security forces superintendent and special tactics instructor. He was awarded the 2006 award for Ohio Teacher of the Year after becoming a teacher in his transition from military to civilian life.
Combs is an adjunct professor at Wright State University in the College of Education. His book, “Mission Critical: A Veteran’s Tour of Duty Inside Public Education” was available for $25 at the event.
Stephanie Bange, director of the Charles & Renate Frydman Educational Resource Center, hoped that attendees left feeling inspired by Combs.
“People looking to transition careers can do so and be very successful in any field. Educators, homemakers, people joining the work force later in life. They can all be successful, and Eric Combs is an example of that,” says Bange.
“Anyone can contribute to straightening out the problems in our society. One person can make a difference,” Bange said. “He is a really good guy. A straight shooter, he will tell you like he sees it and is very diplomatic.”
On a different vein, the 2014 Alumni Exhibition in the Robert and Elaine Stein Galleries is set to begin, with Wright State alumni artwork on display from May 21 – June 13 this summer.
Gallery Coordinator Tess Cortes commented on how the gallery came to fruition.
“This exhibition was conceived as a way to re-engage our alumni artists as well as commemorate the Galleries’ 40th Exhibition Season. Every visual art student exhibited in the Stein Galleries for their senior show as a requirement for graduation. An opportunity to show their more recent artwork is a great way to get them back on campus,” said Cortes.
Viewers are exposed to a wide variety of art displayed at the exhibition. “This is a very large exhibition—we are using all the exhibition spaces throughout the Galleries to accommodate the work of 82 alumni artists. Painting is very well represented, along with sculpture and printmaking,” said Cortes.
The exhibition is an important and rare opportunity for many reasons. “It's thrilling to see visual art alumni still making art in some way. It's not easy to dedicate the time needed to continue making art once life starts happening after college,” said Cortes.
Apart from the alumni exhibition, the Stein Galleries at Wright State offer many other interesting opportunities for all who visit.
“I think one thing the Stein Galleries is a great resource for, to not only our alumni but other artists in the community, is to be a continued source of artistic inspiration and respite. Every season we have visiting artist lectures along with our exhibitions, all of which are free and open to the public,” Cortes said.
More events can be discovered on the University Events Calendar on Wright State’s website.
