By Emily Hawxwell
Not only is he tuning his piano to perfect pitch, but sophomore Christian Howard finds himself fine-tuning his career.
Before attending Peace, Howard attended Longleaf School of the Arts, where he performed in multiple plays and musicals, and he took theatre and choral classes. Those experiences helped spark his love of performing and helped build the confidence that continues to guide him today.
Originally entering Peace as an Interdisciplinary Arts major, shortly after the interview with William Christy, he decided to switch to business analytics, keeping IDA as his minor.
Howard stated that this decision was made in consideration of the limited music offerings available to boost career fields. The Business Analytics major would teach him how to sustain his career for the long run and study how to market his work for better recognition.
Serving as the secretary of WIRED, Howard hopes to pursue a career as a rock musician after graduating. Using his experiences from Peace to equip him, not only with talent, but also with the business skills needed to help boost his career.
Howard discusses how he has overcome challenges and the people who have helped shape him into the student he is today.
Q.) What’s your major and why did you choose it?
A.) My major is interdisciplinary arts. I am a musician and want to be a musician when I graduate. Since I really strive a lot in the music and arts fields, the Interdisciplinary Arts major was the best fit for me because the major also allows me to combine a few different arts ideals into one major. And I also like theater, so it’s perfect for me.
Q.) Can you tell me more about how you were able to combine majors?
A.) I can have a music focus and also have some other things outside, but the Interdisciplinary Arts major as a whole is building up different sorts of arts ideals that make up that one major I wanted to focus on years ago, since that’s my favorite thing in the arts field.
Q.) Who at peace has made the most profound impact on you, and how so?
A.) Two professors come to mind. First would be Wade Newhouse. He gave the freshmen speech at the orientation, and he was my first-year seminar professor, and he also has a theater background. So talking with him and socializing with him a lot has definitely helped me build my character my freshman year. This year in particular, someone I would definitely consider a very profound impact would be Matt Hodge. He’s my advisor right now for my IDA major. He teaches two classes I’m in, and he’s definitely given me a lot of insight into the art field that I would have never seen otherwise.
Q.) Tell me even more about that last part, how he’s helped you kind of see different things within the art?
A.) I mainly will credit the Arts in Society class that I’m taking with him, because we dive deep into different parts of art, like movies, TV, video games, VR, writing, fairy tales, and even mythology, and see it in a new way. We treat it as an adult conversation, talking about the impact they’ve had, why they’ve had an impact, and some deep things to think about with those as well.
Q.) Can you tell me a bit more about that character-building piece?
A.) Well, Wade was one of the nicest, wittiest, coolest professors I’ve had when I took his class. I’d say he put on a bit of a character himself. Also, with theater as well, I love to act and have fun and everything while learning. So he definitely inspired me a lot.
Q.) Which courses have been the most engaging, and why?
A.) I would definitely say Arts in Society and Theater History, with learning about the road to how we see the arts. Last semester, I also took a similar class, Media and Pop Culture. And that was also very intriguing for a similar reason, as we dive into types of communication and pop culture and everything, and again, a deep dive into everything. So those classes definitely opened my eyes to learning a lot about society as a whole, while also digging deep into the stuff I also like. So it was a perfect blend.
Q.) What about your sophomore year at peace has been the most enjoyable so far? What are you looking forward to about the second year?
A.) I would definitely say the clubs. This semester is my first full semester as a secretary for a club, Wired. I also want to give a shout-out to the new live music club, because as a musician, I’m really, really excited to tap into that energy and perform. So clubs have been great for socializing and finding people with similar interests.
Q.) What is your favorite food at the Peace dining hall?
A.) I wish they sold the chicken tenders every day; they are really good.
Q.) What advice would you give incoming first-year students about college?
A.) I would definitely say that kindness goes a long way when you enter college. Friendships in college are especially important because they are very much more likely to be lifelong and more meaningful. So being kind, starting conversations, joining clubs and teams, and any sort of opportunity to socialize with people of your interest is really important to build that community while you’re in college.
Q.) Was there an activity on campus where you found some sense of belonging, and if so, which one, and what makes you feel that way?
A.) Circling back to Wired, I would definitely say one of the social meetings they had, I would definitely want to like the ones before I became secretary, where I was just a general member, but I found connection through the social events, particularly the karaoke events, because I could definitely tap into the musical energy, get my voice out, and also connect with people and use that voice to show off my character. And when secretary positions and also vice president positions were being given out, I definitely wanted to take the opportunity to sign up and get leadership. Wired definitely helps me a lot with finding that belonging and finding my people. I do want to also note that I am on the autism spectrum, so socializing is definitely a big thing when it comes to my college.
Q.) What was a challenge you faced, and how did you overcome it?
A.) I would say the biggest challenge I’ve had across my first year would probably be when I had some self-esteem concerns, when it came to a bit of an increase in workload, and additionally, when some of my classes, I wasn’t performing where I wanted to be. I have an issue where I tend to have too high of an expectation on myself, because I want to do well. I want to excel in my classes and succeed. Because if I didn’t, why am I even at college? So when I noticed one time I had a C on a paper, or I was taking a math test, and I wasn’t doing as well as I had expected myself to do. I got worried and I got stressed, and it put a toll on me until I learned to chill out a little and take more effort to really notice. I was sort of struggling and building up where I wanted to be, so I ended up on the Dean’s list. So it definitely was worth it in the end.
Q.) And is there anything you would like to add?
A.) November is my birth month, so the 13th is my birthday. When this comes out, it feels very thematically appropriate. And I want to give a big shout-out to my roommates who are emotional support, but are actually cats, because I live off campus.