• Full name:听Daniela Baiardi
  • Where you are from:听Switzerland / Colombia
  • What you majored in at Franklin:听Double Major in Art History & Visual Culture and Visual Communications (emphasis in Studio Art), minor in Media Production
  • Year of graduation at Franklin:听2020
  • Your current job position and at what institution:听MA in History and Theory of Art and Architecture at the Architecture Academy of Mendrisio, Switzerland.听For now I shelf away books in the Library of the Academy. I do some freelance work with musicians. Last but not least, I participate in local second-hand markets, I specialised in Polaroids.听

鈥淚 still think of Franklin when I sometimes pass by while driving in Sorengo. And a lot of memories come back. I think about my long hours in the studio doing my drawing, painting, or sculpture assignments. Also, all the various courses I took from Art History, Literature, Economics and Political Science. The unforgettable听Academic Travels听(AT) will always be with me.听I originally chose this university because the scholarship offered to the Swiss students helped me decide, plus the international outlook. Studying in American institutions while staying in Switzerland, is the best of both worlds.听

When I think of my favorite memories at Franklin, many things come to mind! For instance, the community building from听Student Government Association (SGA) to听the Honors Society. SGA helped me understand that I like bringing people together, I did that through an event called 鈥淢eet the Neighbours鈥 involving the community in Sorengo meeting with FUS students. While the Honors Society taught me team coordination and new ways of thinking. Countless great memories also come from AT, like the one I participated in in the Fall 鈥17 semester entitled "Arts and cultural heritage of Taiwan鈥 led by Professor听Gabriel Gee听to Taiwan.听Overall the course was very interesting, but the best part was actually being in Taiwan to experience their art firsthand. I remember spending the whole afternoon at the Art Fair in Taipei. I checked out every single booth. It was a feast for my eyes of contemporary art.

After graduating from Franklin, I decided to continue my studies at Universit脿 della Svizzera Italiana (USI) and am currently enrolled in a MA in History and Theory of Art and Architecture. What pushed me to continue studying was my interest for art history and the honors tutorials, I wanted to know more. As a matter of fact, I can鈥檛 help stressing how in so many ways, my听persona听became more confident and more outgoing thanks to Franklin鈥檚 environment. I was able to flourish as a person and become who I am today. As a professional individual, the group works, presentations and community activities are what helped me to become collaborative, flexible and curious. The multidisciplinary of Franklin encouraged me to always be curious about other fields.听

Lastly, from making friends, to the academic courses, AT, the professors and the staff, for me, the Franklin experience will always be unique and unreplicable anywhere else.鈥

Read a recent short interview in Italian with Daniela by La Regione听.

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