The University of Arizona College of Fine Arts
Fall 2022
GRADUATION
CONVOCATION
Outstanding Seniors
Amanda Lipp
School of Art & College of Fine Arts
Amanda is among the finest Art History undergraduate students the current faculty has had the pleasure of teaching and mentoring in recent memory. Professor Paul Ivey writes about her, “Out of more than thirty years of undergraduate teaching, Amanda stands out in my mind as one of our Art History programs’ most informed and mature students…, exhibiting creative innovation, intellectual vitality and rigor, and a gregarious drive to learn and integrate what she learns with her goal to become a professional art historian.”
Amanda’s Full Nomination Letter
Dear Colleagues in the College of Fine Arts,
We are pleased to congratulate Amanda Marta Lipp as the recipient of the Outstanding Senior Award for Fall 2022 in the School of Art and present her as an excellent candidate for the College of Fine Arts’ Outstanding Senior Award. The faculty in the Art History and Art and Visual Culture Education programs jointly nominated Amanda for the School of Art award in recognition of her devotion to excellence in her scholarship, her commitment to the Tucson and Arizona arts communities through her museum work and volunteerism, and her leadership role among her peers.
Amanda is a major in Art History and a minor in Art and Visual Culture Education with an overall 3.954 GPA. She is among the finest Art History undergraduate students the current faculty has had the pleasure of teaching and mentoring in recent memory. Professor Paul Ivey writes about her, “Out of more than thirty years of undergraduate teaching, Amanda stands out in my mind as one of our Art History programs’ most informed and mature students…, exhibiting creative innovation, intellectual vitality and rigor, and a gregarious drive to learn and integrate what she learns with her goal to become a professional art historian.”
Amanda has sophisticated research and outstanding writing skills, and consistently demonstrates her attention to the impact of visual culture on society in all of her work. She wrote a remarkable paper for Dr. Romano’s Fall 2021 ARH 400 class on “Why Are There No Great Women Art Exhibitions?: Examining the History and Impact of All-Women Art Exhibitions.” She was awarded the School of Art’s Undergraduate Schaeffer Prize in the Art History Research Paper Prize competition in Spring 2022 with a paper for Dr. Widdifield’s class (ARH 423a) focused on an analysis of a Talavera jar in the Arizona State Museum, presenting that paper to an audience of peers, faculty, and the general public in April 2022. She also delivered a polished and professional presentation on “Cultural Hybridity and an Eighteenth-Century New Spanish Talavera Jar in the Arizona State Museum” at the 1st Annual Arizona Latin American Studies Symposium at UA in March 2022. In several of Dr. Busbea’s classes she conducted probing research on institutional critique and psychedelic graphics from the 60s, showing an intellectual maturity rare among undergraduate students.
In her work as an emerging museum professional, Amanda has been a creative intellect, thinking through accessible ways to engage audiences in the museum and experimenting with new ideas in the galleries. In her final paper for Dr. DiCindio’s class, ARE 425: Theory and Practice in Art Museum Education (Spring 2022), she focused on engaging people with art outside of museum spaces, holding a “Kunst” event at her home and discussing ways museum education practices could be used to garner interest in Gustav Klimt among her guests.
In addition, Amanda is an outstanding leader among her peers and is actively engaged with the UA and Tucson communities. She has forged strong ties within the Arizona museum community, holding internships in the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson (2018), working with the curatorial team and across departments; in the Phoenix Museum of Art (2018), where she assisted in the curation and installation of “In the Company of Women,” one of PAM’s most successful and widely attended exhibitions of 2018; and in the University of Arizona Museum of Art (Spring 2022) where she was deeply involved in the work of the Education Department, developing a research guide for women artists in the collection, facilitating hands-on activities at community events, observing gallery tours and providing feedback on the tours.
Amanda was recognized for her leadership skills by the Phoenix Art Museum and was invited to serve as a panelist for the New Intern Orientation program in June 2019. In 2019 she restarted UA’s Undergraduate Art History Club which had been moribund for some years and served as its president, planning events to raise interest in and awareness of art history. Amanda also served the local Tucson arts community through her role as a grant panelist for the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona (Fall 2019), a very unusual volunteer assignment for an undergraduate student.
In sum, the Art History and AVCE faculty jointly affirm that Amanda Lipp is one of our finest recent Art History and AVCE undergraduates with the potential to make great contributions to the fields of art history and museums. We enthusiastically nominate her as the College of Fine Arts’ Outstanding Senior for Fall 2022.
Sincerely,
Irene Bald Romano, Ph.D. Professor, Art History
Carissa DiCindio, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Art and Visual Culture Education
Jordan Torgerson
School of Dance
Jordan stood out as an eager and open individual in the program, and expressed her passion for dance, performance, and cross disciplinary studies right from the start. Her progress and growth as a dancer has been tremendous during her time here! It has been an absolute pleasure to have her in class and rehearsals, as she has consistently diligently applied constructive critique, is eager to learn and grow, and is a kind and confident person who is obviously supportive of his peers and committed to all of her pursuits at the University of Arizona.
Jordan’s Full Nomination Letter
To Whom it May Concern,
It is my pleasure to write a letter in support of Jordan Torgerson for Outstanding Senior for the Fall 2022 in the School of Dance. Jordan stood out as an eager and open individual in the program, and expressed her passion for dance, performance, and cross disciplinary studies right from the start. Her progress and growth as a dancer has been tremendous during her time here! It has been an absolute pleasure to have her in class and rehearsals, as she has consistently diligently applied constructive critique, is eager to learn and grow, and is a kind and confident person who is obviously supportive of his peers and committed to all of her pursuits at the University of Arizona. Jordan’s determination and dedication to her pursuits at the University has allowed her to successfully pursue not only a BF A in Dance, but also a degree in Criminal Justice Studies (CJSBS) and a minor in History. She is done this with maintaining a 3.929 GPA!
Not only has she succeeded in successfully committing fully to her journey at the University of Arizona as a double degree student, she also stands out in class as someone who has a strong work ethic and an open mind connected with the larger purpose and collective collaborative energy of the arts. In Fall 2020 I featured Jordan in a piece I choreographed called, Woven, and she worked incredibly hard and performed it beautifully amidst all of the challenges and restrictions of that particular semester.
Jordan sets a wonderful example for her peers with her outstanding sense of professionalism in the classroom, and consistently brings positive energy into the studio.
I look forward to seeing what the future holds for such a bright, committed, and hard-working young woman truly deserving of the Outstanding Senior Award this year in the School of Dance.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth George
Associate Professor and Undergraduate Advisor
Juan Guzman
Fred Fox School of Music
He has been a supportive and integral member of the clarinet studio, where he has been sought out by his colleagues for his advice and guidance. All throughout his time here, Juan has worked to support himself financially with weekly work in the field of music performance. His future goals are to continue to improve on the clarinet and to work with young students from low-income families to help foster a love for music.
Juan’s Full Nomination Letter
Dear Scholarship Committee:
It is my pleasure to recommend Juan Guzman for the Outstanding Senior Award. Juan has been my student for two years and I can speak confidently to his abilities and character. Juan transferred from Mesa Community College into the Music Education program and began his studies at UA during the height of the early pandemic in Aug. 2020. Juan worked to overcome the difficulties of online and outdoor lessons by practicing diligently, making recordings of himself, and taking copious notes during lessons. He made significant progress on the clarinet in the two years that we worked together, and I credit this to his resilient and earnest attitude and his work ethic.
During his time at UA, Juan maintained a 3.85 GPA, working hard both in his individual practice as a clarinetist and in his Music Education coursework. He was accepted into the Belgian Clarinet Academy and attended the festival in Ostend, Belgium during summer 2022. Juan is a medici scholar and a recipient of the College of Fine Arts Dean’s Undergraduate Diversity Retention Award. He has been a supportive and integral member of the clarinet studio, where he has been sought out by his colleagues for his advice and guidance. All throughout his time here, Juan has worked to support himself financially with weekly work in the field of music performance. His future goals are to continue to improve on the clarinet and to work with young students from low-income families to help foster a love for music.
For his student teaching assignment, Juan requested to teach at Pueblo High School as a result of previous work at the school and in recognition of the student diversity. Following a teachers‘ resignation over a weekend, and in recognition of Juan’s previous work with the students, the principal approached Juan about receiving a Student Teaching Intern Certificate to teach choir and orchestra full-time. Juan is the epitome of a self-reflective educator, constantly seeking ways to improve and measure effectiveness in the classroom. He has a bright future ahead of him and we are excited to see how he continues to impact the lives of young students.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jackie Glazier
Associate Professor
Melanie Moreno
School of Theatre, Film & Television
While here, Melanie has served as Music Director for Enharmonics, A Cappella, where she ran and directed rehearsals, arranged music, and was recognized for her singing both as a Soloist and a team player. She sang at the CFA’s SALON event last Spring, which featured students from historically-excluded communities. She is, also, the recipient of the Wildcat Excellence Scholarship.
Melanie’s Full Nomination Letter
Dear Committee,
I am delighted to nominate TAR BA student, Melanie Moreno, for Outstanding Senior, for the School of Theatre, Film, & Television. Melanie is a civic-minded writer and performer, who works in two languages. She carries a 4.0 GPA and has been on the CFA’s Dean’s List since 2018.
Melanie is a natural leader. Before coming to UArizona, she was the President of the Leadership Club for the Boys and Girls Club “KeyStone” in Peoria, Arizona, where she was named “Youth of the Year.” While here, Melanie has served as Music Director for Enharmonics, A Cappella, where she ran and directed rehearsals, arranged music, and was recognized for her singing both as a Soloist and a team player. She sang at the CFA’s SALON event last Spring, which featured students from historically-excluded communities. She is, also, the recipient of the Wildcat Excellence Scholarship.
As an artist, Melanie collaborated frequently in my Scriptwriting Course. She always stepped in to volunteer to read and support her fellow students. I was continually delighted by her consistency and her creativity, and particularly, her interest in addressing culture, interpersonal and socio-political dynamics in her work. Melanie is a strong, actor, singer, and writer, and the type of Outstanding Senior that represents the core values of the CFA. In her time at UArizona, she has developed her own artistic voice.
It would be the CFA’s great privilege to send Melanie Moreno out into the world with this prestigious award. Thank you for the consideration.
All best,
Elaine Romero Associate Professor