Brittany Poeppe | Assistant Arts + Life Editor

Name: Carolyn McDermott

Year: Senior

Major: Biology with a Chemistry minor

Hometown: Lincoln, NE

Integration [in-ti-grey-shuh n]: “Behavior, as of an individual, that is in harmony with the environment.”

Carolyn McDermott strives for integration. She considers herself an expressive, visual, creative, intelligent individual who likes to make connections. One connection she has made at Buena Vista University (BVU) is the connection between art and science.

McDermott came to BVU not knowing what she wanted to study; she had an interest in science, so she decided to become a Biology major. She says that she became interested in art randomly.

“Art is an essential part of being a human being and expressing yourself. Art is human expression at its core,” McDermott said.

McDermott has always enjoyed going to museums and viewing different art forms, from poetry, to sculpture, to quilting. While at BVU, someone suggested McDermott take a Design class. She found that she had the time in her schedule open, so she agreed. McDermott had previously been SAB’s VP of Advertising, which meant she made lots of handmade signs; she says it was her creative outlet for a long time. As far as mixing the two disciplines, McDermott says it was meant to be.

“In my Design class, we were given a design brief, which was basically Miranda [Pollock] coming in and saying, ‘This is the project. Here are the requirements. Go,’ and from there, we were given five topics. Part of my decision to integrate them was being unafraid to mix them,” McDermott said.

Since McDermott is a senior, she says she has also done some soul-searching. While talking with friend and BVU alum Alexis Williams about the two disciplines, Williams remarked, “When did art and science become exclusives?” McDermott now ties art and science together nearly every day. She finds beauty in the mundane.

“I think equations are gorgeous. There’s something so beautiful about them. My O Chem [Organic Chemistry] notes are perhaps my favorite. What people may see as just a graph, I see so much more,” McDermott said.

Ink and paper are her favorite tools to use when creating art. McDermott says she loves being able to take pen doodles and put them onto a graphic. She says the most important part of integrating the two disciplines is through meaningful practice and thought. McDermott is passionate about each discipline because she’s striving for a deeper understanding of her own human condition.

“I love science because I’m so interested in learning about relationships and what’s actually going on in the world. I’m constantly blown away by nature, evolution, and the ability to ward off pathogens. Everything is a process, and everything has an order. I love art simply because it’s an expression of individual human beings. It’s a way of communication through what you wear or even the color of your notebook. Both disciplines make you consciously examine what’s going on around you, and to me there is no dichotomy,” McDermott said.

McDermott finished with one closing statement, saying, “Essentially, integration is who I am.”

Graphic by Justice Gage
Photos courtesy of Carolyn McDermott