A STEAM-Powered Future by Emily

A STEAM-Powered Future by Emily - August 2017 Scholarship Essay

Most people do not consider music to be a real class, and they often write it off as something only "talented people" do. However, music, art, drama, and design classes employ valuable skills that every other profession can benefit from. Creativity is within every student, if he or she is willing to search for it. Unfortunately, many students miss out on these advantages because they write themselves off as not creative enough. I have been blessed with the opportunity to cultivate my love for logic and math, alongside my passions for music and the arts. I would teach a class where I was given the chance to connect the benefits of the arts to modern advances in science and math. Called "STEAM: Music and You", I would gear the course toward engineering and math majors, i giving students the chance to appreciate the arts as they work alongside their major.
I would begin by focusing on the many scientists and philosophers who also were advocates for the arts. I would describe their discoveries, then discuss with the students how the arts helped them in their lives. Many very popular scientists, including Albert Einstein, and free thinkers, like Galileo, were also musicians. Often times, the most creative people are the ones who are able to bridge the gap between the metaphorical left brain and right brain. It is shocking how connected the arts and science are, and the first half of my course would be dedicated to those connections as it pertains to history.
The second half of the course would be the more interactive lab portion. Students then would take their new knowledge of the connections between creativity and their chosen field, applying it in several real-world scenarios. I would assign a large project to be completed during class, a task with several modules. I would ask each student to take a specific facet of their field, whether it be architecture, mechanical engineering, or organic chemistry, and research how to connect it to a portion of the arts. The project would culminate in a large presentation to the rest of the class at the end of the term. Each student would need to answer specific questions pertaining to their field, which they would receive upon the project's initial approval by me. During class for the last half of the semester, I would bring in guest speakers, writers, and fellow professors, to talk about their field of expertise, and students could use them as sources to build their arguments.
The arts hold a very special place in my heart, and I would like to show more people how vital creativity is to our ever-changing world. I would use this hybrid course as the beginning of a new chapter for these students. Many students write off the arts because they do not understand that every part of life involves innovation and imagination. If I could show these students how to use the arts as it applies to their passions, they would then become so much more versatile as working professionals in the future.