Dance and Sport Management, and the project was accepted as a presentation at local and national symposia, including the virtual Council on Undergraduate Research’s annual conference on April 13. Like Pradip, Jacenta Wallingford ’21, a creative writing major and professional writing and rhetoric minor, had an idea to explore. She approached Professor Julie Funderburk about serving as her mentor for her multi-genre adaptation of adventure game What Remains of Edith Finch. “You can’t turn Ms. Pac-Man into a literary work,”
Funderburk initially thought, but then she watched Edith Finch and saw it was rich with imagery and provided a unique storytelling structure. “In video games now, you—the player—take on the point of view of a character and explore the world through their eyes,” Funderburk explained. And there is a literary component to Edith Finch in that it is set inside a house filled with books. “[These are] real novels written by real authors in the real world,” Wallingford explained, “so, I had to put myself in the mindset of the video game creators by reading those things and getting a grasp on what each of the authors added to the game….The story unfolds like a movie.” Funderburk enjoyed having a student conceptualize and lead a project. “I’m often making choices for students,” she said. “I’m giving them assignments about what to read and what to write, but here, Jacenta was driving the project.” Funderburk further explained that Wallingford wanted to learn about the writing process and that for her, the process was more important than the outcome. “Creativity allows you to explore without knowing where you’re going,” she said. “It might not work, but the process is where the learning takes place, and The Rogers Institute really makes that journey possible.” “You never know what’s going to be the spark for a student,” M.A. added. “But I believe these special projects—the ones people feel personally connected to— may propel them to something big. “My husband didn’t know when he started college—
and I didn’t either—what either of us would be doing down the road,” M.A. continued. “But if you have the right opportunities presented, and you take advantage of those opportunities, something great can emerge.” ■
33 J A CENT A W ALLINGF ORD ’ 21
“You never know what’s going to be the spark for a student. But I believe these special projects— the ones people feel personally connected to—may propel them to something big.” —M.A. Rogers
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
