Kris LaRosa ’17 (Humanistic Studies + Photography B.F.A.) came to MICA from a high school where the academic experience was intense.

“I didn’t want to lose out on that in college,” Kris explained, “The Humanistic Studies program at MICA was the only thing I could find — knowing I wanted to go to art school and knowing I wanted to be a photographer — that would allow me to study that at the same time as giving me the chance to learn with the same academic rigor that I wanted.”

“I was always making art from an early age, but I didn’t make it in connection with things I was reading or thinking more deeply about,” she added. “Coming to MICA, the things I wanted to make changed based on what I was discussing in class. I take a lot of feminist theory classes and film theory classes that have been huge inspiration for me and really shaped the way I was thinking from a critical and conceptual standpoint.”

Recipient of the Leonard L. Greif Jr. Photography Scholarship and the Fanny B. Tahlheimer Scholarship, Kris was also the recipient of the Society for Photographic Education Mid-Atlantic Student Travel Grant in 2016 and 2016. She also interned at New Hampshire Home Magazine and Small Edition during her time at the College.

Kris also explored other mediums while at MICA. “I took a book arts class, two graphic design classes, I took video and even intro to fiber. I wanted to get as much of a well rounded experience before I left. MICA made it easy for me to do that,” she noted. “And the faculty and my fellow students are my most important allies. They support me through everything.”