Liv Larsen – The Scarlet & Black

Liv Larsen `26 stated she felt considerably impacted by the music neighborhood at Grinnell College and that it was integral to her time right here at Grinnell. Hayden Suarez-Davis `25 and Georgia Carbone `24 had been amongst college students she regarded as much as and labored with all through her first couple years of faculty, main her to areas that she would inhabit for the remainder of her time at Grinnell. 

Larsen was a Grinnell Concerts coordinator throughout her second and third yr. She knew concerning the live performance scene from her mother and father, who’re each alumni of the College. “One of the major things that I had heard about before coming to Grinnell was the concerts and how they had invited all of these iconic acts.” 

“I’ve always loved music,” stated Larsen. “In high school, I went to concerts all the time, so I knew it was something that I was interested in doing.” 

She stated her involvement with Grinnell Concerts is without doubt one of the core experiences that she’s going to carry along with her due to the connection that she discovered with different individuals via her job. “God, it was so fun,” she stated.

Along with concert events, Larsen additionally beloved images coming to Grinnell. “Before Grinnell, I studied film photography for a year in this kind of non-traditional program called Folk High School in Norway,” she stated.

Larsen realized when she received to campus that images wasn’t a really developed a part of the Grinnell arts program, so throughout her second yr she began pushing for the darkish rooms on campus to reopen. 

When Larsen was informed that the darkish rooms wouldn’t be reopening, she ordered a creating equipment from B&H Photo and developed a roll within the Loose lavatory. 

“I posted some of the photos on Instagram, and a student who was on the Physics SEPC told me that he had the key to the physics darkroom and that I could have it if I wanted it,” she stated. For the previous 4 years, she stated, she’s been taking pictures and creating in there. 

During her second yr, Larsen began capturing for GOGUE. “That was really fun because people were only shooting digital there and I started shooting film for them.” 

During her third yr, Larsen carried out a Mentored Advanced Project (MAP) on experimental movie images with Nicky Tavares, assistant professor and chair of movie and media research and Andrew Kaufman, professor and chair of studio artwork. 

She stated essentially the most rewarding a part of the MAP was her Smith Gallery present and the 2 movie creating workshops she hosted. “That was the first time I had brought other people into the darkroom. Since then, I have met way more people who are doing that on campus,” she stated.

“Even though I was frustrated first year by the lack of resources or information or classes on the stuff that I was into, by the time I was doing the MAP, I was like there are people that are into this on campus, and now I have the opportunity to take advantage of the resources that this college can provide,” she stated.

She stated, “One of my favorite things about Grinnell in general is that students have the freedom to make things happen. If you have an idea and you’re driven, you can do it.” 

In the classroom, Larsen stated that she felt that her adviser, Associate Professor of English Stephen Andrews, was very inspiring and fascinating. “He’s the best,” Larsen added. “I love listening to him lecture because he’s a genius, but at the same time, he wants to hear what every student has to say.” 

Off campus, Larsen labored at Prairie Canary all of her 4 years. “I started working there randomly my first year. I was at dinner with my grandpa there, and I think my grandpa said something to the effect of ‘are you guys hiring?’” 

Larsen stated that she beloved working at Prairie Canary. “With that, I was able to form connections within the community that made me feel like I had a nice balance of being involved on campus but also having friends that weren’t connected to the campus,” she stated.

One factor that Larsen discovered all through her time at Grinnell is that you simply shouldn’t overextend your self, however you need to benefit from each alternative. “I kind of did both, and then this year I finally found a happy medium.” she stated. “Don’t overextend yourself so that you can do impulsive and spontaneous things.”