VoE - Roman Suer === Roman Suer: [00:00:00] I'd say the common thread, if that goes back to your question is, you know, art is intrinsic in who we are and what we do, and they see the value in that. Jen Farmer: From the heart of the Ohio State University on the Oval, this is Voices of Excellence from the College of Arts and Sciences, with your host, David Staley. Voices focuses on the innovative work of Arts and Sciences faculty and staff. With departments as wide ranging as art, astronomy, chemistry, and biochemistry, physics, emergent materials and mathematics and languages, among many others, the college always has something exciting happening. Join us to find out what's new now. David Staley: I am pleased to be talking with Roman Suer today. Welcome. Roman Suer: Thank you so much for having me. David Staley: Roman serves as the Arts Scholars Program manager, and why don't we begin there? What is the Arts Scholars Program? Roman Suer: Yeah, so again, thank you so much for having me. The Arts Scholars Program is a two year certificate program, really, what the end of the two year [00:01:00] experience, you're awarded a transcript designation, and more so beyond that, it's an applied learning experience program. We're trying to get scholars outside the classroom and connecting with their learning in the classroom to their environment, both on campus as well as in the Columbus and central Ohio region. There are a lot of pieces to the Art Scholars program. I teach a first year seminar and it's all about art and storytelling, and so, it's exciting, we have them tell stories through different formats and mediums because this is a non-major specific program, so we have folks in every art form you could imagine that, you know, is, is possible to pursue here at Ohio State, but then we also have folks in engineering, journalism, business, you name it. Every college, virtually, is represented in the makeup of this program, and so it's a very well-rounded in its makeup. And so, we don't wanna limit any kind of expression, any kind of experience that scholars are bringing into the program, and so you see a lot of their personalities and identities kind of shine through in the stories that they tell. David Staley: What sorts of experiences do students have in this program? Roman Suer: So, [00:02:00] it's... David Staley: Varied. Roman Suer: Varied. It's incredibly varied. When I review applications for scholars coming in, I seek ways to bring them in, and so I would like for the arts to, to be accessible to all scholars and really to everyone as much as possible. And so, if I see in their transcript that they took art classes in high school, or maybe they weren't offered where they went to school, but they pursued it as an extracurricular, or even in their essay that they write, there was a story, there was someone in their family who played instrument, whatever it may be, that helped inform, you know, their spirit. I want them to explore that more. David Staley: Mm-hmm. Now, you mentioned the second year program: maybe say a little more about what that is. Roman Suer: Yeah. So, the first year experience is very much about community building and exploring their curiosity regarding the arts, and then the second year is a lot of connecting the arts to what they wanna do after they graduate. Oftentimes it is pursue an arts career, but oftentimes it's not. And so, we have them do career roadmap assignments where they explore their creative identities, how it informs what they're studying, ask them to do [00:03:00] some research on the fields that they've expressed an interest in, and then we always have a panel discussion featuring different artists or educators, people in adjacent fields to speak with them, to hopefully connect the dots and maybe allow them a chance to pursue internships. David Staley: Mm-hmm. Roman Suer: Or part-time jobs, maybe something even deeper after they graduate. David Staley: Hmm. You mentioned that you pull in students from all across the university, including engineering students, for example. What draws them into the program, presumably they're not majoring in art? Roman Suer: That's a great question. I do survey them at the very beginning of the school year to get a sense of why they're in the program; is art exclusively an outlet for them, is it wrapped up in their full identity in some way, or are they looking at that intersection, how is becoming a creative person or developing my creative skills gonna make me a more informed or relatable nurse or practitioner in literally any field? And so, I'd say the common thread, if that goes back to your question is, you know, art is intrinsic [00:04:00] in who we are and what we do, and they see the value in that. David Staley: Hmm. I'm really interested in this idea of creative skills. What would those include? Roman Suer: I mean, anything from painting, drawing, photography, to, you know, moving image, production design in some way, shape or form. There are these studio habits of the mind, a lot of the, kind of the jargon, uh, a lot of things that we do, you know, as creatives or artists that have transferable skills. So, I also like to employ the NACE Readiness Competencies that the College of Arts and Sciences endorse, and so I definitely bring that in to the second year curriculum and have them explore those connections between these competencies, their interests and values, and these studio habits, so that, you know, the way that they critically think as an artist, they can find the ways that you can similarly, critically think as an engineer. David Staley: Studio habits. Roman Suer: Yeah. David Staley: Tell me a little more about what that might mean. Roman Suer: So it's, there's a diagram, it's cyclical. I'm not sure if I could read off or say, you know, each and every one of 'em off the top of my [00:05:00] head, but essentially there's observing, there's there's stretching and exploring, there's critical thinking, reflection. So, many of these things that inform the artist's practice that are transferrable to what you do maybe in a lab as a scientist. And so, maybe making a scholar go, huh, okay, all this time I spend what may be daydreaming in the studio and people think I'm wasting time, I'm calculating, I'm strategizing, I'm reflecting on, on the work that I've done and who I am and why it informs the work that I do. David Staley: Hmm. Allow me to congratulate you; you are a recipient of the Barbara and Sheldon Pinchuk Arts-Community Outreach Award. Tell us, tell us about this award, first of all. Roman Suer: Yeah, so the Barbara and Sheldon Pinchuk Arts Community Engagement Award, it is a great opportunity, really, for this family of artists and entrepreneurs who have personal connections to Ohio State to support the arts community beyond Ohio State's campus in central Ohio. And so, I've worked closely with the Office of Engagement in the past. I've had Arts [00:06:00] Scholars serve as mentors for their arts ecosystem project, and this award, this opportunity is really an extension of this existing partnership that exists between Arts Scholars Engagement and Wild Goose, who is so used to already hosting events like this and serving as this incubator. David Staley: Hmm. Roman Suer: So, I just had the, you know, the pleasure and privilege really of serving in a role that could connect to these, these different units and these funds as well that are gonna make it possible to bring all of these artists, all these students from high schools in central Ohio, different organizations, mentors from the Art Scholars program, under the same roof to help dispel the myth that if you're an artist, you're starving. And so, I'm really excited for mentors to essentially just do what they're ready to do as bigs within the program to kind of help facilitate their confidence, their abilities as creatives, but also as people, and I'm just excited. David Staley: Mm-hmm. Roman Suer: I'm very grateful to the Pinchuks. David Staley: Well, and to be clear, you won this [00:07:00] specifically for the High School Arts Incubator project. Roman Suer: Correct. David Staley: Is that, is that a space, is that a location someplace, the incubator? Roman Suer: It is a, it's really a one day workshop that's gonna be taking place on October 2nd at Wild Goose Creative. We'll have over 75 area high school students who have demonstrated an interest in the arts and pursuing it in some way. And so, it's a one day networking, resources, skills kind of mentorship as well. So it's, you know, do some of these students wanna pursue a career as an artist? Do they want to pursue an education at Ohio State or other colleges, universities? And so, there will be somebody at essentially every stage of their path moving forward who can hopefully give 'em some guidance so that they feel supported, and also so that their families can sense that there is a community here that is there to support them. David Staley: Hmm. And you've only just started this, right? Roman Suer: Just started this, this is the first iteration. David Staley: So, so we don't know any effects or any, what have the alums been able to do? Roman Suer: That's correct. I mean, what we'd [00:08:00] love to see happen is that this becomes a series. David Staley: Mm-hmm. Roman Suer: Or a much longer experience so that, you know, it's not just a one time, but maybe a several months long experience where they can work together and create art together. David Staley: Hmm. You mentioned Wild Goose Creative and I know you sit on the board of directors of Wild Goose Creative. Tell us a little bit more about this. Roman Suer: Yeah, so I mean, Wild Goose is an incredible organization. It exists to, to build community at the intersection of art, risk, and meaning, and so much of the work that we were talking about, there is an element of risk associated with it, and obviously we're trying to develop this connection, this deep connection, meaning to the arts in central Ohio. So, in this role as vice president, I wear many hats, as you might imagine, working in a nonprofit, and so I assist with curation, with, you know, development, governance, operations, things like that. But really I just, I'm a big fan of what the organization does, and I remember going to Wild Goose events years ago when it was on Hudson and, you know, sitting in on figure drawing, and I [00:09:00] just knew that this was a very special place and I had the, really the privilege of being asked to, to join the board during the pandemic. David Staley: Oh. Roman Suer: A good five years ago at this point, which is unbelievable to think about. I reached out to Wild Goose to see if they would host my program's spring showcase, and it went incredibly well back in 2019, so I reached out again in 2020 and last minute it had to get, you know, canceled for obvious reasons, there was a pandemic that we were struggling to cope with, and so I just decided to reach out afterward to the director Lydia Simon, I was like, is there anything I can do to help this organization? I imagine you must be struggling, or everyone is struggling, it's not just Wild Goose. And she said, we like that attitude. Come and get involved. And a couple years later, here I am. David Staley: You said "art, risk, meaning", which I found a really interesting triad. What's the risk part? What does, what does risk mean to an artist or to a creative? Roman Suer: I think it's at the root of what so many artists persevere through. You know, artists are incredibly [00:10:00] resilient people and, through Wild Goose, we have folks apply for us to be fiscal sponsors for them so they can get creative projects off the ground. And so, while we help them financially at the beginning, in some cases, that is still a major risk to take on projects of that magnitude. Any creative person that, that is vulnerable and shares a part of who they are for the world to share their opinions on or to, you know, to experience and to chat about, there's a risk in that too. David Staley: Mm-hmm. Roman Suer: And so, just at the core of being an artist is being vulnerable and taking risks. David Staley: Hmm. How did you end up in this area, in this line of work? Roman Suer: Mm-hmm. Such a great question. I don't think that there is a linear path to either sitting in as the Art Scholars program manager or sitting in the board with Wild Goose. I could go as far back as my childhood being immersed in the arts, being raised in Puerto Rico where music and culture are intertwined and you, you hear music everywhere you feel it. You know, food is art in Puerto Rico and my background's also Turkish, and so the [00:11:00] connection there with music is strong, and my sister's an opera singer, you know, so growing up I also got to enjoy her incredible talent. My brother's an amazing dancer. I'm the middle child who's like trying to figure it out and, I'm very lucky, but I would say my strongest connection to the arts that really got me here in many ways was joining the OU, the Ohio University African Ensemble when I studied at OU, and it just opened my eyes to not just music, but also being walked into a community and performing music and telling stories of a culture that was not my own, and then making, you know, being made to feel that it, that it is part of, of who I am too. David Staley: Who have your creative influences been throughout your life? Roman Suer: That's a very challenging question too. I would say, you know, in many ways, Dr. Paschal Yao Younge and, and Dr. Zelma Badu-Younge over at Ohio University. It really opened the doors for me in many ways, just allowing me to not only take this class, but then become [00:12:00] recruited into their nonprofit organization, Azaguno, and it just made me feel confident. It made me feel that I had a responsibility, also, to perform music for the right reasons or to create art for the right reasons, which is not to necessarily be the best, but to tell stories authentically and to build connections. David Staley: Well, and let's learn a little bit more about this. On top of everything else you do, you're a drummer and a dancer. Say a little, say a little bit more about this creative work. Roman Suer: Yeah, so I haven't practiced it as much recently. I've become much more wrapped up in the arts management, administrator roles and figuring out the direction for this program and working closely with Wild Goose, but I have gotten back into it. So, I had the chance with Azaguno several years ago during undergrad and grad school to perform several times within the Midwest, but then also it could have been different high schools and middle schools that we went to actually, so that we could expose 'them to music that was not [00:13:00] what they're traditionally experiencing, maybe in band and in choir, but then also this is a professional organization that has connections across the world. So, I had the, the pleasure of traveling to Hong Kong, to perform with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, to perform in Tainan City in Taiwan, for their Qixi Arts Festival, sort of like a coming of age festival, and different educator conferences in Toronto as well as in Bologna, Italy. So it, it wasn't just about music, it was about opening my eyes to the world, and so that's why I just have this deep value in, in connection to the arts. Beyond that, I also did layout and design for a newsletter in undergrad. And so, the graphic design, communications design sort of experience also informs the practical role that the arts can play in our life and not just the expressive. David Staley: Where did the dance come from? Were you dancing as a child, at home? Roman Suer: I was, yeah, I was dancing as a kid. I was one of the, the rare boys that was taking jazz and modern and classes like that when I was a child in Puerto [00:14:00] Rico, and also taking salsa and just being immersed in that environment. It's, it's like it's in your blood. And, also again, being my brother's sibling and seeing him, and he's such an incredible performer, both on the stages, you know, in theater as well as dance, that some of that skill rubbed off on me a little bit. Yeah. David Staley: Well, Roman Suer, thank you for joining me today. Roman Suer: Thank you so much for having me. Jen Farmer: Voices of Excellence is produced and recorded at the Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences Marketing and Communications Studio. More information about the podcast and our guests can be found at go.osu.edu/voices. Voices of Excellence is produced by Doug Dangler. I'm Jen Farmer.