University of Alabama at Birmingham rising senior, Amitis Moradkhani, won first place in the UAB Honors College Art Contest and
Dean Blanton & Amitis Moradkhani with the Honors College Art Contest and Dean's Scholarship Certificate received the Dean’s Scholarship award. She is participating in an accelerated bachelor’s/master’s program for a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and a Master of Science in Multidisciplinary Biomedical Science.
According to Moradkhani, her winning design featured a compass-style map of the world with the Honors College’s flame positioned in the north direction “to represent how the Honors College can help students find their path throughout their undergraduate experience, headed for success.”
Upon receiving the exciting news of her winning design, she reflected on her decision to enter the contest that led to an unplanned achievement. “I think the mix of surprise and gratification taught me that stepping outside of my comfort zone and creating something authentic can pay off,” Moradkhani said.
“Creative activity is an outlet for many of our students in all disciplines, and they are encouraged to pursue many facets of learning outside of the classroom through a variety of course offerings and hands on learning,” says Shannon L. Blanton, Ph.D., dean of the UAB Honors College. “Amitis is an example of how these opportunities shape the paths of our students to explore new things related to their major or perhaps discover new passions that bring them a sense of fulfillment and even contribute to their future success.”
Every spring, honors students are encouraged to submit designs for an opportunity to display their artwork on materials for the Honors College New Student Retreat, a three-day event that welcomes incoming first-year honors students through different sessions and activities. The Student Mentor and Retreat Team (SMART) Leaders reviewed and selected the final design out of 37 submissions.
Amitis Moradkhani with her winning designMoradkhani’s design was inspired by the personal and professional growth she attained through the Honors College’s initiatives and programming that shapes the next generation of changemakers. “I wanted to create a design that symbolized direction as incoming honors students join the community to receive guidance not only from their peer SMART Leaders, but also the wonderful honors advisors,” Moradkhani said. “Hopefully, these students can navigate their own path throughout their undergraduate years with the mentorship of the Honors College.”
To prepare her design, Moradkhani drew from her connection and experiences in the Honors College. She admired the Honors College flame and what it represented because of its simplicity and impact, so she used it as a starting point to develop the rest of the design. As a “corner of the page doodler,” she started with multiple design templates that included the flame and symbols that represented the word “direction.” She sketched her ideas using OneNote and landed on the final design after approximately 30 minutes of draft sketches.
Although Moradkhani does not consider herself an artist, she uses art as a hobby by “sketching to relieve some anxiety or as a point of focus while listening to academic content” which includes biochemistry, neuroscience and physiology. She does not have plans to create more art in subsequent contests, but she remains open to the possibilities that will arise in the future.
