11/27/17

AMES, Iowa — Claire Smith of Belmond will represent the Iowa State University College of Design as its student marshal at the university’s commencement ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 16, at Hilton Coliseum. Her faculty escort will be Joe Muench, professor of art and visual culture.

Smith will graduate summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in integrated studio arts.

Smith was on the Dean’s List and in the top 2 percent of her class every semester at Iowa State. She received the Therese Warburton Applied Art Fund Scholarship, Diane Cone Boody Fine Arts Scholarship, Wendy Marie Noteboom Ewell Scholarship, Janice Peterson Anderson Excellence Award and Scholarship, ISU Scholarship for Student Achievement and Marck Nystrom Ceramics Award.

Smith studied abroad in fall 2016 with the College of Design Rome Program. She completed internships with the Iowa State Memorial Union Fine Arts Program and the Fort Dodge Messenger, and she worked at the Iowa State Memorial Union Workspace and as a photographer for the ISU Department of Music.

On campus, Smith was involved in clubs and organizations including Developed Photo Club, ISU Hockey Pep Band, Ethos Magazine, Happy Strong Healthy Magazine, Tau Beta Sigma national band service sorority and Kappa Tau Alpha honorary journalism organization.

Smith’s work has been accepted into several exhibitions, including “Snapshots” and “Community of Artists” at the Octagon Center for the Arts in Ames, and she won second place in the 2017 Biorenewables Art Competition at Iowa State.

Smith chose metals professor Muench as her faculty escort because “he has become my mentor and someone I can talk to about almost anything,” she said. “Not only does he help with projects and assignments in his class, but he really pushes his students to succeed in whichever area of study they are pursuing.”

Following graduation, Smith will continue at Iowa State to complete her second degree in journalism and mass communication in May 2018 and plans to work as a photojournalist in the magazine industry.

Smith is the daughter of Joleen and Kevin Smith of Belmond. She is a 2013 graduate of Belmond-Klemme High School.

Contacts

Claire Smith, Graduating Senior, Integrated Studio Arts, casmith@iastate.edu
Joe Muench, Art and Visual Culture, (515) 294-7634, jmuench@iastate.edu
Heather Sauer, Design Communications, (515) 294-9289, hsauer@iastate.edu

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