Reaching Out to Others Through Art
Rya Luttrell ’12 When Ryla Luttrell ’12 arrived at Transylvania, the expression “liberal arts education” meant nothing to her. After four years of study, however, she has a much better grasp of how all fields of study are interconnected. And her engagement with others on campus has helped her refine who she is and how she can express herself through her art. As part of her wide-ranging experiences on campus, Luttrell says she “had the opportunity to have tough conversations about topics that are too often taboo, such as religion, politics, and ideology.” She could safely test her own ideas and “converse with peers of different upbringings and beliefs.” As Luttrell explains, “This understanding has been incredibly beneficial to me as a person and as an artist. It has allowed me to communicate with people outside my field with confidence.” These opportunities for dialogue also helped Luttrell look beyond herself and better understand her place in a larger global community. She credits her professors for expanding her world view and teaching her how to “weigh choices based on my own needs and the needs of others in my life.” The meaningful relationships she developed with Transylvania professors initially surprised her. Luttrell found that her professors—including writing, rhetoric, and communication professor Scott Whiddon, music professor Ben Hawkins, and art professors Kurt Gohde and Zoé Strecker—“talked to us like we were intelligent individuals with valuable ideas, and respected us as people.” It was through my study of
