Alumni and Careers

What have you been up to since graduating from Bowdoin?

Since graduating, I’ve worked across different areas of the arts while building a steady studio practice. I’ve exhibited work in Poughkeepsie galleries, debuted my first solo installation Beauty in Remembrance (2022) on Noepe (Martha’s Vineyard), which was featured in the MV Times, and in March of this year (2025), I participated in The Destiny at Ann Street Gallery in Newburgh, New York, which was featured in Hyperallergic. My Afro-Indigenous heritage is central to my art practice and daily life. In 2024, I joined the Chappaquiddick Tribe of the Wampanoag Indian Nation’s Tribal Council.

From 2021 to 2024, I worked at an arts nonprofit in Poughkeepsie, where I helped establish a youth arts district, organized programs and an annual festival, and taught teens to use art as a tool for expression and civic engagement. Currently, I serve as the Marketing and Digital Initiatives Post-Baccalaureate Fellow at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College, where I lead digital engagement and amplify the voices of students, artists, and the local community. I’m also preparing to pursue an MFA in the near future.

Why visual arts?

Before even arriving at Bowdoin in 2017, I knew I wanted to take an art class. I couldn’t imagine my college experience without it. Art has always been central to how I understand myself and the world. During my sophomore year, I had a transformative experience that shaped both my studies and my practice, ultimately leading to my thesis, “Analyzing Black Representation in the Teaching of Visual Arts” (2021). That project critically examined the history of art at Bowdoin from its founding to the present.

I ended up majoring in visual arts, Africana studies, and art history. This combination was intentional and provided a framework to think critically about representation, or the lack thereof, in the arts and in education. Each discipline informed the others and pushed me to ask deeper questions about identity, systemic racism, and belonging. Visual arts, in particular, gave me a way to translate those questions into a visual language, exploring themes in my practice that I continue to pursue today. I’m especially grateful that the major gave me the freedom to experiment, take risks, and explore expression in ways that felt both personal and necessary.

Are there any classes, professors, or experiences that had a lasting impact on you?

My mentors, Professors Judith Casselberry, Dana Byrd, and Carrie Scanga, were incredibly influential. Professor Byrd’s course African Americans in Art gave me a strong foundation for understanding the crucial contributions of Black artists to the canon. With Professor Scanga, I had the opportunity to do an independent study in 2020 alongside Amie Sillah ’20 and Amani Hite ’20, where I first began to explore new materials and narrative work connected to my cultural identity. Those moments of encouragement and experimentation had a lasting impact on both my practice and my perspective.

What advice would you give to current students or recent graduates?

Remember your why. Being an artist doesn’t look one way, and it’s important to let go of the pressure to fit into a single mold of what an “artist” is supposed to be. For me, that meant creating work that felt authentic to my story rather than chasing an external idea of success. I also chose not to go to graduate school right away because I wanted the space to explore my practice on my own terms. That decision helped me refine my vision and clarify what drives me. I’d encourage students and recent graduates to give themselves permission to grow at their own pace. Most importantly, make art sustainably. It’s a long journey. You don’t need to constantly create to prove you’re an artist: living life, resting, and seeking inspiration in everyday experiences are just as vital to the process.

What have you been up to since graduating from Bowdoin?

First, I worked for former Bowdoin professor John Bisbee, the nail sculptor whose work is still in the main entryway of Druck (I think). He gave all his employees studio space in Fort Andross. That’s when I started painting in earnest. I lived in Portland from when I graduated in 2015 until 2018. While working for Bisbee, I was always surrounded by artists. Artists who worked in Fort Andross would often stop by and come to lunch. My coworkers and roommates were artists and musicians, and my friends in Portland ran a gallery out of an old laundromat building. This work experience was the most significant influence on my decision to become an artist: seeing that it was possible, that many people did it, were able to sustain it, enjoyed it, and were not starving or regretting it. While living in Portland, I curated a show and took part in a few two-person and group shows. I moved to Brooklyn and went to grad school, earning my MFA from Hunter in 2021, and I’ve been living and working here since then. I’ve had some shows at Moss Galleries in Portland (working with my old Bowdoin Frisbee teammate Cody Stack ’16), and I’ve also been in some shows here in New York. It’s a great place to be an artist.

Why visual arts? What drew you to the major/minor and how has it shaped your path?

I had a hard time picking a major. I was also interested in philosophy and English. Ultimately, it was actually my parents who said something like, "Well, you’ve always really liked art, why not major in that?" Simple enough. I had always loved art. I was always drawing, taking photos, and I loved ceramics. I was worried about job options, but my parents pointed out that philosophy and English don’t exactly set you up either. I thought I could get a fulfilling job doing graphic design. I had always secretly wanted to design skateboards, snowboards, and album covers. It turns out it’s very hard to make a living from just that. I did an internship doing graphic design for the Hyde School (over in Bath), and I saw what it would realistically be like to have a steady graphic design job. It would pay the bills, but it wasn’t my idea of "fulfilling." I found much more fulfillment working for Bisbee and doing my own art.

Are there any classes, professors, or experiences that had a lasting impact on you?

I have already mentioned my transformative work experience with John Bisbee. Painting II with Mark Wethli was also important. His immediate observations and suggestions for painters were inspiring to me. I thought, "If only I could achieve that kind of mastery, to be able to give artistic advice that quickly." An Intro to Poetry class with Peter Coviello was memorable. Arguing about the meaning of poems was the best. An intellectual history of medieval Europe with Professor of History Dallas Dennery was also great.

What advice would you give to current students or recent graduates interested in your field?

Devoting your life to art certainly raises the stakes, but in the end, that only makes it more meaningful and important. One practical piece of advice is not to go to art graduate school right after undergrad. Take at least two years, preferably more. Know what you want to get out of art school before you go. There is no need to rush it. Also, being an artist and making a living from it takes a very long time, so be patient. For all Bowdoin students, try not to be so anxious about things. Get a therapist if you are experiencing anxiety. Try to enjoy your friends, enjoy nature, enjoy the pines, go to the ocean, enjoy the dining halls, and bike around and explore.

What have you been up to since graduating from Bowdoin?

When I graduated from Bowdoin in 2011, I knew that I wanted to be an artist. However, it took me a while to figure out how to sustain my art practice. At first, I thought I had to work in art-related fields such as galleries, museums, art advisory, auction houses, and similar areas. However, positions in the arts were very competitive and did not pay enough to allow me to create art while also paying for housing, rent, clothes, travel, and other expenses. So I ended up working in the fashion industry for about a year and a half. I worked at Club Monaco in their corporate office in New York City, where I learned how to collaborate with various people in a team, communicate effectively, and maintain strong, professional relationships. The most important thing I learned from that experience, however, was that I did not want to work in a corporate setting and that I wanted to dedicate more time to creating art.

This led me to pursue my MFA in sculpture at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt). During my time in graduate school, I also became interested in teaching, particularly in higher education. My art practice centers on the idea of play, and this philosophy fits well with the way I view teaching because art as an academic discipline is grounded in experimentation, exploration, and an endless process of trial and error.

Since receiving my MFA in 2016, I have been actively making and exhibiting my work. I have a studio in Boston, where I try to spend time at least twice a week. Recently, I have been focusing on creating larger sculptural installations using materials I gather from other artists and institutions, items, and debris that they no longer want.

My art practice supports my teaching, and my teaching supports my art practice. I have been teaching undergraduate and graduate students since 2016. I currently teach at Simmons University as assistant teaching professor of art and the director of the Trustman Art Gallery. In this role, I teach a variety of courses in art and arts administration, and I curate professional art exhibitions at the university gallery.

Why visual arts?

I arrived at Bowdoin intending to go to medical school after college, but this quickly changed as I began taking sculpture, drawing, photography, and painting classes. I noticed that I was spending hours in the studio and finding excuses to leave labs and math classes early. I loved that I could dedicate an entire semester to exploring the interaction of colors and creating forms that embrace gravity.

What advice would you give to current students or recent graduates interested in your field?

I would say to prioritize living your life first. Make sure you have housing, food, and strong relationships with your friends. Also know that your friends are your network, and the idea of the “brilliant, lonely, tortured artist” is a myth. You do not get discovered by shutting out the world and creating alone in your studio. Make sure to see exhibitions in artist-run spaces, commercial galleries, museums, and university galleries. Go to open studios and talk to artists. Show up for your friends’ exhibitions and curatorial projects.

Remember that you have to eat, sleep, and rest in order to create. It is also okay to take things slowly. I took a break from creating art for a year, but I eventually came back. If you want to be an artist, you will be, so do not rush. Figure out your life first.