While most people spent their summer playing Pokémon GO, Junior Jennifer Nie was enhancing her artistic abilities. From July 9 to Aug. 5, Nie attended the California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA) at California Institute of Arts, a four-week program seeking motivated and talented high school students.
Nie applied for the animation course, and after undergoing an application process, she was one of the three students who was accepted.
For the first three weeks, Nie followed her schedule of going to art classes in the morning and afternoon, and doing homework at night. On the final week, the teachers gave Nie a week to create an animation, during which she decided to create a film based on a moment from her childhood.
When the four weeks at CSSSA ended, Nie recalled the fun moments she had at the camp.
“It was one of the best summers because I met and connected immediately to everyone around me and learned a lot,” Nie said. “We fed off of each other’s creativity and inspired each other to become better artists.”
Nie also attended CSSSA last summer, but at the time she was in visual arts.
“I feel like I got more out of this year compared to last year, since my art style is more suited to animation,” Nie said. “For this year, I learned more technical skilled material, but also invaluable life lessons.”
Through the program, Nie took interest in animation as a career. Nie does not plan on going to next summer, since she feels that her experience there has grown to the fullest.
