Students react to CVA closing

Posted at 3:57 PM on January 17, 2013 by Marianne Combs (0 Comments)
Filed under: Education, Funding

Students of the College of Visual Arts are processing the news that their alma mater will close at the end of the spring semester.

College of Visual Arts' office building on Summit Avenue

For Theresa Ganzer, continuing her education would mean transferring for the second time:

At first I thought it was a bad joke. I literally started crying, this was so random and without warning. I am freaked out still, and this is a lot of unwanted stress. I originally was only worried about my internship next year...now I'm worried if I'll be in school or not next year.

I am a transfer student to CVA, I already have my 2 year associates degree. My original plan was to go to CVA for 4 years, doing the long route and obtaining my bachelors after 6. Now, this is my fourth year of college, I will have 2 more left after CVA's closing to get my bachelors. for me the most logical thing in my position is to open up to MCAD and give them a chance, especially if they understand CVA's position and are willing to work with the students. I'm nervous about transferring credits however, because the transition from Inver Hills to CVA, I had to take classes over. Hopefully, the transferring of credits will be smooth sailing.

CVA was my DREAM school, everything about it screamed my name, it felt right to go there. It was in a mansion, small classes that became a small community, it was dog friendly. Everyone was so nice, the professors knew you as an individual, It's going to be impossible to get that experience anywhere else.

From Sawyer Rademacher, Sophomore Photography Major at The College of Visual Arts, the loss is a deeply personal one:

When I first visited CVA for a tour I felt very comfortable, a feeling that stayed with me over the past year and a half. The staff here are all so friendly and knowledgeable and they all seem very eager to form close relationships. Whenever I would talk with friends about the different schools we were attending I always enjoyed bragging that I knew my instructors by their first names and even some of their personal cell numbers, just in case of an emergency I could get in contact with them or vice versa. The people that I've met and the skills I've learned I know will stay with me for the rest of my life and I feel as though I am losing a second home. I wish the best for all my classmates and the teachers and staff of CVA in the future. The Twin Cities is losing a truly special school.

Are you a current student at CVA? Share your reaction to the school's closing in the comments section.