Aggie student meets First Lady Obama
By: Samantha Johnson
Issue date: 11/23/09 Section: News
A Texas A&M student traveled to the White House to accept the "Coming Up Taller Award" from first lady Michelle Obama on behalf of the after school art program she participated in while in high school.
Jessica Flores, a freshman biomedical science major and Corps of Cadets member, took part in the Young Artist Apprenticeship Program, an art program organized by the Blaffer Gallery at the University of Houston her senior year of high school.
"I really enjoyed the program; we got to do a lot of projects and work with different mediums," Flores said. "It was great to work with other people and see how they interpret the art."
During Flores' time in the program, Hurricane Ike hit Houston and the students were able to turn debris from the hurricane into an inspiring project.
"We were doing molds of our hands, and we decided to use branches that had been broken during the hurricane as arms, and we each designed a section," Flores said.
The Blaffer Gallery's Curator of Education, Katherine Veneman, described the concept of the project.
"It's what's known as an 'exquisite corpse.' Each of the students design individual segments that all work together," Veneman said. "It was set up with a seat in the middle and radiating from the seat were the 'arms.' They made casts of their hands and then used tree branches for arms, the concept is 'helping hands.'"
The completed project is on display at the University of Houston.
Veneman said Flores took a leadership role in the project, which is one of the reasons she was awarded the $1,000 Martha Meier Scholarship.
When the Young Artist Apprenticeship Program was chosen as one of the 15 after-school arts programs to receive the Coming Up Taller Award, they asked Flores and Veneman to accept the award.
"They asked me this summer if I would be willing to accept the award on behalf of the program, and I was shocked and excited," Flores said. "At first, they weren't be able to tell me where the ceremony was. We didn't know until just a few weeks before it happened that it would be at the White House with Michelle Obama."
Jessica Flores, a freshman biomedical science major and Corps of Cadets member, took part in the Young Artist Apprenticeship Program, an art program organized by the Blaffer Gallery at the University of Houston her senior year of high school.
"I really enjoyed the program; we got to do a lot of projects and work with different mediums," Flores said. "It was great to work with other people and see how they interpret the art."
During Flores' time in the program, Hurricane Ike hit Houston and the students were able to turn debris from the hurricane into an inspiring project.
"We were doing molds of our hands, and we decided to use branches that had been broken during the hurricane as arms, and we each designed a section," Flores said.
The Blaffer Gallery's Curator of Education, Katherine Veneman, described the concept of the project.
"It's what's known as an 'exquisite corpse.' Each of the students design individual segments that all work together," Veneman said. "It was set up with a seat in the middle and radiating from the seat were the 'arms.' They made casts of their hands and then used tree branches for arms, the concept is 'helping hands.'"
The completed project is on display at the University of Houston.
Veneman said Flores took a leadership role in the project, which is one of the reasons she was awarded the $1,000 Martha Meier Scholarship.
When the Young Artist Apprenticeship Program was chosen as one of the 15 after-school arts programs to receive the Coming Up Taller Award, they asked Flores and Veneman to accept the award.
"They asked me this summer if I would be willing to accept the award on behalf of the program, and I was shocked and excited," Flores said. "At first, they weren't be able to tell me where the ceremony was. We didn't know until just a few weeks before it happened that it would be at the White House with Michelle Obama."
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