Applications for fall 2024 nycTRECs are due Sunday, March 10. The four nycTRECs include Contemporary Art, New York Theatre, United Nations and Communications & Media.
These courses all require frequent travel to New York City, which is made accessible by the Madison train station. All travel and program-related expenses are covered by students’ tuition.
Contemporary Art, taught by Professor Kimberly Rhodes, is a required course for all art and art history majors at Drew. The course can be taken as either a four-credit or an eight-credit class.
Students are able to network within various disciplines as they visit exhibits, local art projects and museums throughout NYC including the Museum of Modern Art, the New Museum and the Whitney.
Rhodes stated, “Many former students are working in related fields now, including art galleries, art museums and auction houses. Other students are pursuing graduate degrees in art history, studio art, art conservation, museum studies and arts administration.”
The semester is also a great way to help prepare students for careers beyond Drew.
She added, “The NY Semester on Contemporary Art helped prepare them for this work by introducing them directly to a wide variety of people working in the industry (artists, curators, gallerists, conservators, etc.) for conversation and networking, and guiding them through the spaces and places that comprise the New York art scene.”
The Theatre nycTREC, taught by Professor Lisa Brenner, runs every other year and is the only two-semester nycTREC. Like every other nycTREC, the course counts for eight credits, but it is structured differently; four credits are taken in the fall, and the remaining four are taken in the spring.
In the fall semester, students attend class in New York with the Tectonic Theater Project, an internationally known group based in New York City.
As Brenner stated, “Students study [Tectonic’s] unique technique for creating theatre called
‘Moment Work,’ in which actors, designers, stage managers, directors, writers and dramaturgs
all work together to create exciting productions that fully utilize the elements of the stage.”
In the spring, students collaborate with Tectonic on creating a theatrical production. This past year, students adapted Euripides’s ancient Greek play “Iphigenia at Aulis.” As part of their research, students attended a showing of the Broadway musical “Hadestown.”
Since then, Drew Theatre has been working with one of the leads from “Hadestown” on a musical that will be part of a summer short nycTREC.
Since their time in the theatre program, several alumni have pursued professional theatre. For example, Victoria Detres (C’17) is a creative theater producer in NYC and an advocate for BIPOC artists.
Another set of Drew alumni Ciana Proto (C’17) and Haley Pilkington (C’17) work together with Tectonic member Barb Pitts on their show “The Goddess Project,” which their website describes as a “meta-theatrical rock concert in a play.”
As one former student stated, “The things I learned in the NY Semester about creating theatre with bravery, spontaneity and a spirit of humility are lessons I carry with me even a year after the course began. Being trained in Moment Work means I know how to deal with the nervousness that always comes when making new theatre—now I embrace the act of following inspiration, even if I don’t immediately know where it’s taking me!”
The Communications and Media nycTREC takes students to the heart of New York City to learn about broadcasting, cable, publishing, film, media and more.
Students meet with various firms to learn how ideas and information are spread internationally. Interacting with various field professionals and professors, students learn how media is used to craft, spread and interrupt information across the globe.
Taught by Professor Carlos Yordan, the Semester on the United Nations TREC takes students to Manhattan twice a week. The UN sits alongside the East River with Drew’s classroom just across the street at the United Nations Plaza.
Founded in 1962, the program is Drew’s second oldest off-campus experience and the first-ever nycTREC. The program is unique to Drew as only one other program, from Occidental College, provides a similar experience.
UN semester student Jason Velder (‘25) remarked, “The semester at the UN was the entire reason I attended Drew. The sheer proximity to NYC and the experience and networking that comes with it are second to none.”
Here, 20 students study the inner workings of the United Nations while meeting with people involved in international relations, including lobbyists, diplomats, NGOs, UN employees and more.
Notably, students this year have traveled to Human Rights Watch within the Empire State Building, the New York University Center for Global Affairs, the Harvard Club and the UN itself.
Additionally, students choose a UN-related topic about which they write a thorough research paper and complete two simulation exercises that model diplomacy and negotiation between states. Students representing various nations work to create consensus and negotiate on a global challenge.
Because many Drew alumni work within New York in organizations such as Human Rights Watch, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and Outright International, alums often connect with the UN semester. Many are employed by the UN Secretariat or the US Foreign Service as diplomats or by specialized organizations.
Yordan remarked, “On the whole, I firmly believe that the Semester on the UN serves as a transformative experience, offering students a profound opportunity for self-discovery and personal growth.”
He added, “This program not only imparts valuable knowledge about global affairs and diplomatic intricacies but also provides a unique space for individuals to explore and understand their strengths, passions and potential.
“The Semester on the UN catalyzes intellectual and emotional development, empowering students to cultivate critical thinking skills, foster empathy and embrace cultural diversity. By engaging with real-world issues and collaborating with peers from diverse backgrounds, students emerge from the program with a heightened sense of self-awareness, resilience and global citizenship, poised to make meaningful contributions to society and effect positive change in an ever-evolving world.”
Shannon Thoma is a senior double-majoring in political science and English with a concentration in literature.
Featured image courtesy of Carlos Yordan.
