Written by Polly Evans-Thomas
Members of the first cohort of Brenau’s 2+2 interior design partnership with Anhui Normal University in China will arrive in Gainesville this July to take an English class with ON Language in preparation for the fall semester. The 2+2 partnership allows students who have completed the first two years of their degree program at ANU to complete the final two years of their undergraduate education at Brenau.
This summer, Charity Armstead and Huy Chu traveled to China to teach Foundations 2D/3D to the second cohort set to arrive in fall 2021. Armstead taught the first three weeks of the class, beginning with lessons on texture, line and negative/positive space. Chu followed with teaching perspective and assisting students in designing and making pop-up cards.
“I really enjoyed teaching the students,” Chu says. “They were very eager and motivated. I hope they have the same qualities when they come to Brenau.”
In addition to teaching, both Armstead and Chu had the opportunity to explore Wuhu province where ANU is located. Armstead traveled to a silk museum, where she got to witness live silkworms eating mulberry leaves in the silk making process. Chu indulged his fun-loving side and joined a few students going to Disney in Shanghai. When asked about what she enjoyed most about her experience, Armstead noted that “The students were incredibly hardworking and very persistent, they thought my teaching methods were a bit unorthodox, but they did all the activities enthusiastically and produced stellar work.”
In preparation for the arrival of students at Brenau, CAD has made updates to the ID classroom. The classroom has been moved downstairs to a larger space to accommodate more students and encourage collaboration.
