Washington & the Arts: Patronage, Policy, and Diversity

Alice is a sophomore at William & Mary, studying Art History with a minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the Mason School of Business. On campus, Alice works for Campus Recreation and as a student assistant for the French Department. She also enjoys singing in Spectacular: An Original Musical, which was written by a senior at the university. Alice is looking forward to exploring DC with her Washington & the Arts Seminar class and to learning more about identity representation in a range of artistic realms and about formal and informal venues of art presentation.

Laura is a senior studying Data Science with a minor in Sociology. While at W&M, she is part of the salsa club, works at the Daily Grind, and works with the Data Science for Sustainable Development (DSSD) organization. This summer, since COVID did not allow for many study abroad opportunities, she interned in Thailand for a start-up company. She's excited to study the arts and how those influence DC's culture. She hopes to move there after graduation!

Xiwen is a sophomore with plans to study International Relations and Data Sciences. She's from Beijing, China.

Grace is a junior from Herndon, Virginia. She is currently studying Music and Marketing at the university. On campus, she is the treasurer for Barksdale Treble Chorus; a university sponsored upper-voices ensemble. She is also a sister of the music sorority, Nu Kappa Epsilon, and a member of Alma Mater Productions. She is particularly interested in the impact of arts learning on education and the benefits it can have. She hopes in the future to end up in a career in arts administration or music education.

Justin Oei (he/him) is a junior at William & Mary studying Music and Government. A native of New Jersey, his love of the arts was ignited by early childhood piano lessons and his love of politics by his mother's nightly ritual of watching the CBS Evening News, and is privileged at W&M to be able to synthesize both of those. On campus, he is involved with the W&M Choir, Early Music Ensemble, and the Canterbury Association, W&M's Episcopal campus ministry; in the Music Department studies Voice with Chris Mooney and Organ with Tom Marshall. He also serves the local community as a church musician and frequently substitutes as an organist or singer in both Northern New Jersey and the Williamsburg area. After W&M, his hope is to pursue either an M.M. in Choral Conducting or Voice and, ultimately, to teach Music History at the collegiate level.

Kai Okai-Brown is a sophomore at William & Mary anticipating double majoring in International Relations and Film and Media Studies. She aspires to be a political screenwriter and knows her winter semester spent studying abroad in D.C. will widen her perspective on the world and looks forward to this. She has an unquenchable love for writing and reading and a new found love for media production. During her time on campus, Kai is a member of Sandbox improv, William and Mary’s honor council and a producer of Rocket Magazine. She believes art is society's way of intimately communicating with itself and is consistently attempting to partake in and analyze this relationship through diverse paradigms.

Abby is a senior from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania studying Public Policy with a minor in Marketing. Outside of the classroom, she serves on the executive board of VOX: Planned Parenthood Generation Action as the Publicity Chair and is the captain of the Wooly Mammoths ultimate frisbee team. She is also an Army ROTC cadet and will commission in the spring as a second lieutenant. In her free time, she loves trying new restaurants, biking, and traveling the country.

Yucheng Shi is a sophomore studying Environmental Science and Policy. He engaged in the young artists' group and try to find the Generation Z culture. Through the years, he curated some shows and events in China to discuss topics such as cyberpunk, iconoclast, and naturalism.

Evan is a 3rd-year student at William & Mary. He is going into his second semester as a transfer from community college and he is majoring in Theatre and minoring in Hispanic Studies. When he isn't studying or working on theatre productions, Evan enjoys watching movies, playing soccer, and hanging out with his two cats, Coco and Oak.