Clair Lecker

Throughout my Experiential Learning project, I have been gaining hands-on experience by participating in the creation of a symposium focused on sociocultural and environmental sustainability across the faculty. This symposium is presented by Sustainability Initiatives Faculty of Fine Arts (SIFoFa), and its goal is to promote sustainability principles and share better practices within the Fine Arts and broader Concordia communities. The event, which will include a variety of in-person and hybrid activities, will take place at 4th Space from the 12th to the 16th of September 2022, as well as online. My role in the project focuses on assisting Professor pk langshaw by leading a four-person student team that is organizing and promoting the event and creating a cohesive graphic design language for it. Once the symposium has taken place, I will also participate in its documentation in print. I decided to participate in this project because of my interest in both sustainability and design. Additionally, it seemed like an incredible opportunity to hone my skills and to participate in my academic community in a new way.

Skills I have developed

I felt prepared to take on the subject of socio-cultural and environmental sustainability thanks to the emphasis my professors put on these topics in many of my design classes. However, this was the first time I had the opportunity to apply what I had learned at such a large scale and in a public-facing scenario with many stakeholders. For instance, it has been a new challenge in decision-making and coordination for me to create a programme that is mindful of including as many perspectives on sustainability as possible.

This experience is also helping me develop my creativity and judgement by applying design processes and strategies that I have learned in my courses. For example, creating a visual approach that is appropriate to the subject matter and can be applied across a variety of media using sustainable production methods requires me to use skills taught in class in an expanded way. Although I have never taken on a branding project like this before, trial and error and lessons learned during the production of projects in my design courses have given me crucial starting points. 

Participating in this project has also allowed me to develop important life skills that are not directly related to my studies in class, leadership skills being the most important ones. Guiding a team, being counted on to make decisions, and learning to delegate effectively are all challenges I have had to face in my experience so far that I know will be valuable in all my future endeavours. Having a talented, kind, and energized team is making this challenge a lot more manageable, and I am very lucky to work alongside Elisabeth Bureau, Sarah Hontoy-Major, and Patrizio McLelland on this project.

My experiences, challenges, and solutions

The greatest part of this experience has been feeling part of the Concordia community on a deeper level. Participating in learning outside of the classroom has given me the opportunity to interact with and learn from faculty, staff, technicians, and students of various academic backgrounds that I would not have encountered otherwise, and they have enriched my university experience.

The greatest challenge for me has been dealing with the self-doubt that comes with stepping out of one’s comfort zone. The two solutions I have found are to seek honest and constructive feedback from my team, my supervisor, and my friends and family; and to not be afraid to iterate strategies over and over again until the right one becomes clear. The outcome of this challenge has been positive: being trusted to use the skills I have learned to complete this project has ultimately boosted my self-confidence and my belief in my ability to succeed in the design field. 

I would encourage any student with a project they are passionate about to apply for an Experiential Learning Grant because having the freedom to explore hands-on outside of the limitations of a course curriculum is a unique university experience that will help you grow and may even change the course of your study or career.

Looking forward

I am still working on this project and am so excited to share the results in September when our event goes live. I believe that once I have completed this Experiential Learning experience, it will be an incredible addition to my CV that will demonstrate my coordination, leadership skills, and ability to produce professional design results across a variety of media. I have no doubt that this will help me with my job search when I complete my degree in 2023, and I am very grateful to the EL office for this opportunity.

This article was written by Claire Lecker and edited by Juan Espana.