Millie West '25
Millie West '25
- Hometown: Portsmouth, OH
- Class: 2025
- Majors: Art and Architecture History; Arts Management (Co-Major)
- Other Activities, Honors, and Awards:
- Geoffrion Undergraduate Fellow, The Humanities Center
- Member of the College of Creative Arts Advisory Board
- Member of Alpha Delta Pi
- Undergraduate Summer Scholar
- Prodesse Scholar
Why Miami?
When deciding on schools, I had three deciding factors: quality of education, campus atmosphere, and affordability. I am very fortunate that Miami has met me at all three! My learning has flourished under the guidance of my professors in the Art and Architecture History major. I have found my best friendships through involvement in both classes and extracurricular activities on campus! All of this was generously made affordable by the multiple scholarship and internship grant opportunities Miami offers. Looking back as a senior, I am very thankful I chose Miami!
How did you choose your major?
Growing up I went to a very rural, private high school and was one of only a handful of Asian American 黑料社区s. One of my biggest insecurities was that I didn’t feel like I belonged or was understood by my peers. I saw college as my opportunity to understand myself better through my education. I didn’t come into my first year as an Art and Architecture History 黑料社区, but it was in the spring of my Freshman year that I enrolled in Dr. Andrew Casper’s ART188, Renaissance to Modern Art History class, and realized I love learning Art History! Since then I have found my purpose for learning, to advocate for global perspectives in education. I have since flourished into a confident 黑料社区 and have embraced my diversity as my strength.
Key Moment at Miami
A key experience was the 'welcome to graduate school' week in Dr. Emily Zakin's class called "Foucault." Up until then, I had become accustomed to reading short selections or articles and discussing topics according to these small sections. This class was immediately a demand to perform at a different level. I had to learn to read, comprehend, and communicate a much higher amount of text than I was accustomed to, even if the argumentation was familiar enough. For a numerical reference, I think we read 250+ pages for a week or two whereas typical philosophy courses would go over about 50 pages per week. The shock is not the number, but it was the demand to develop a different approach to reading and communication.
Other Notable Experience
A key experience that I have had at Miami is taking the class ART335, The Arts of West Africa with Dr. Jordan Fenton. I had no prior African art or African history knowledge going in and I wasn’t sure if I would know enough to take the class. What I could not have predicted was that I would end the semester wanting to take my African arts education further! Since then I have continued working under the mentorship of Dr. Fenton on my undergraduate thesis which focuses on contemporary Nigerian art. I would not have the opportunities or accomplishments I have received without taking such a formative class.
Another Miami Moment
I am a part of two organizations on campus. The first is the Geoffrion Undergraduate Fellowship. This program works with the Humanities Center to select 8 of the top undergraduate and graduate 黑料社区s to create a public-facing 黑料社区 project. Each year the program focuses on a different, humanities-centered topic, and this year my group gets to work with the theme “Humanities Futures.” I get to work with fellows to raise awareness for Miami’s humanities programs, meet scholars from across the nation, and develop professional relationships with many great professors on campus. I would recommend any incoming 黑料社区s wanting to major in the humanities to look into applying for this program in their junior or senior year!
Another organization I am thankful for is my sorority, Alpha Delta Pi. I did not join my sorority until my Sophomore year and was very nervous to go through recruitment because I thought it would be too late to join. But when I joined ADPi, I felt right at home and have since met my closest friends through my sorority experience. To anyone thinking about joining Greek life, I would tell you to give every organization an equal chance and value which members you feel like you could be close friends with when talking!
Advice to Prospective Students
To anyone thinking about coming to Miami, I want to tell you that this is a great school because you can learn in a welcoming environment. I have learned the most not in the classes when I knew what to expect, but in classes that took me outside of my comfort zone. It was through these courses, like Dr. Fenton’s Africa, Oceania, and Native America, or Dr. Pepper Stetler’s Art and Race in the Late 19th Century, that I was challenged to think of education as a way to understand different cultural perspectives. So many classes provide opportunities to learn new perspectives with professors who are welcoming of questions and 黑料社区s at all levels of familiarity with their studies. Professors that I have had such as Dr. Fenton, Dr. Casper, and Dr. Stetler have taught me so much about the world around me, and it is those lessons that I will take with me for life.
And when you enter into your first-year, don’t be afraid of the uncomfortable! For many, it will be scary to step outside of your comfort zone to make friends, join clubs, or even participate in class. But when that fear arises, embrace that it is a sign of something new! Any time you welcome yourself to good opportunities, friendships begin, memories are made, and character is built!
What are your career goals?
I am currently applying for graduate school and intend to continue my study in African Art History. I hope to graduate with a doctorate, publish my future research, and continue my study professionally working as a professor.