(Left) Executive Director of International Recruitment and Relations, SCAD, Maken Imcha Payne and (Right) Associate Director of International Admissions, SCAD, Pelesino Ane Kevichusa. (Morung Photo)
Vishü Rita Krocha
Kohima | November 30
As the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), the University for Creative Careers reaches out to North East India, the young, creative minds of Nagaland can also look forward to personally experiencing SCAD at an exclusive event scheduled to be held at The Maple Tree, Dimapur on December 3, 2016.
The one of a kind event will provide glimpses of the highly rated American university with two key persons from SCAD including Executive Director of International Recruitment and Relations, SCAD, Maken Imcha Payne and Associate Director of International Admissions, SCAD, Pelesino Ane Kevichusa. Prior to the December 3 Event, The Morung Express caught up with the two-member visiting team to learn about what’s in store for students who wish to study at SCAD.
As an alumna of the university, Executive Director of International Recruitment and Relations, SCAD, Maken Imcha Payne strongly feels that SCAD is an environment where they will realize their identity and that, students will experience an education that fully exercises their creative minds, abilities and unearth talents that they didn't even know they had. Speaking from her personal experience at SCAD, she also asserts that, “when you learn to define your identity through your experiences, nothing can stop you from achieving what you want to do in life.”
Also putting across that the educators who earlier visited SCAD Atlanta during October saw that there is absolutely no creative institution in the world that can match the opportunities and facilities that SCAD offers, she emphasizes that Nagas have a need for SCAD and what it offers to truly realize their worldly potential. “Additionally experiencing an education at all of SCAD's five locations (Atlanta, Hong Kong, Savannah, e-learning and Lacoste) results in students being more marketable for career prospects”, she enlightens.
She also impresses upon that students who want to come to SCAD will have to be open minded, hard working and ambitious while elucidating that “these are three qualities that you will need to survive and be successful at SCAD.” “Skills and talents can be learned because the curriculum at SCAD is specialized for individuals even without an art background to excel - but these attributes are essential for the kind of student we are looking for at SCAD,” she underlines.
It may be noted here that SCAD has started receiving applications from Northeast India and will be choosing the top 5 students to join in the fall quarter, which starts in September 2017 for both undergraduate and graduate students. SCAD is also looking to introduce the weeklong summer programs to Naga Educators to help them gain the relevant foundational understanding of art and design, which can be used to shape the young students. Apart from this, there are summer programs for students in all the 5 locations that SCAD has, enabling students to experience university life, work on projects, and meet other students from all over the world. The program runs for 5 weeks and students get to choose whether they want to do it for 1 week, 2 weeks or for the whole 5 weeks. In this regard, Maken Imcha Payne feels that primarily the Hong Kong campus being nearest to India would be a great option for the students.
Associate Director of International Admission, SCAD, Pelesino Ane Kevichusa feels that “SCAD is a perfect fit for Nagas because there are too many talented young (and old) people who have spent too many years not being able to realise their creative potential and SCAD offers this possibility of exploring almost every possible creative field that one could ever imagine.”
Referring to the facilities, the care and guidance that SCAD gives the students as witnessed by the Naga Educators who visited SCAD Atlanta earlier, she says, "There’s so much to gain for every Naga who comes here." "At SCAD, one of the greatest missions is to ensure that all our graduates are marketable and employable when they graduate and I think this is one of the most needed things in our society right now," she conveys.
Highlighting that SCAD visit to Nagaland is like an extension of the Retreat for Educators from Nagaland and Northeast organised in October, she expresses, "we were thrilled with overwhelming response that we received and because we want more people from Nagaland and around to be involved, we decided to have an event here in Nagaland and share a part of SCAD with everyone who’s interested." She further reveals that SCAD is looking at identifying talent as well as building relationships with schools and colleges as well as artists, entrepreneurs and other influencers from the visit. “The December 3 Event is being organized to mainly tell people what SCAD is all about and with the interest shown by them, the event will also address whatever questions they may have”, she divulges.
What the SCAD event means for Schools in Nagaland
As the host school for the SCAD event, Sashikala Imchen, Academic Director of The Maple Tree School, Dimapur while expressing her excitement, states, “I think it is really good for Nagaland that a college like SCAD is coming all the way here, which, I believe would bring a lot of awareness for students and parents, not just about college but it will open a lot of options for students to think about.”
Maintaining that the kind of programs and career options that are there at SCAD would open up a lot of avenues for our children, she affirms that “we have so many children who are really talented but sometimes they are stuck with the limited options that are there and feel kind of lost.” She stated this specifically referring to studies in the area of humanities and further asserts- “I think it will bring a lot of awareness on what is available for children and they will be able to make better decisions about their life.”
Also expressing that she is looking forward to the SCAD event, Sashila Ozukum, Administrator of Hope Academy, Dimapur states that “it is such an opportunity for our Naga people that SCAD has come all the way to show us what Art and Design is all about” and further extends her gratitude to the SCAD Visiting Team for this great initiative.
Echoing similar sentiments, Managing Director of G. Rio School Kohima, Khrienuo Moa also feels that it is a wonderful opportunity for Naga students in the field of art and design while touching upon the unique and creative ways with which SCAD grooms its students for the future.
