“The teachers, students, staff, security, Robert and Henry — everybody has something they bring to the building that they can teach another person. Everybody has something they can improve on. You get nowhere if you insist you do it on your own. And yes, you have something valuable to bring to the Academy community as well.”
Emmeth Murphy is graduating from the Media Arts Department and will be taking a gap year before attending Lawrence University, where she hopes to continue to study and practice filmmaking, while looping in her deep curiosity for folklore and the history of storytelling.
Emmeth took this opportunity to acknowledge two people she will never forget, the late Mary Caraway, and her arts department chair Jessi Meliza.
“I will never forget the wonderful hugs that Ms. Caraway gave me on those mornings when the train was late, my socks were wet, I hadn’t finished the reading for Mr. Roux, and it just seemed like the world was turning upside down. But a moment in her arms felt so grounding and special. She understood the ins and outs — all the intricacies of life at The Academy. Ms. Caraway was a fairy godmother who had no need for magic, she just did it on her own.”
“Jessi Meliza hasn’t just taught me how to be a Media Artist, she has taught me how to be an artist who understands the effort of art no matter the level. She has taught me how to be flexible, how to fall hard and find yourself when you get back up again. Meliza hasn’t just practiced being an artist, she’s practiced the art of practicing, of moving forward, of being where you are.”
Congratulations Emmeth!