Meet Matthew Tamason, Intern for the Office of the Registrar and a blossoming Rhodes scholar. Hear his experience and how he made it to where he is today

[caption id="attachment_1931" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption=" My partner Virginia and I hanging up Emily Stout’s Mermaids – a piece with five, life-size “rioting” mermaids made of charcoaled paper and quilted fabric."][/caption]

The arts have always played a role in my life, but the amplitude of this role seems to vary with each phase of my life. As a young child, I would spend countless hours each day drawing with markers, crayons, and colored pencils. Upon entering middle school, I somehow marginalized this creative energy in order to focus on more “serious” subjects. Thankfully, that energy did not remain entirely suppressed – I still took art classes. But I never truly appreciated the skill and eye I possessed in the arts.

When searching for a college, I intuitively chose to come to Rhodes, a liberal arts college. Still unsure of what I wanted to pursue as a career, I had a feeling liberal arts would be the best bet for allowing me to explore options and find a passion. As a sophomore, I decided to fulfill my arts requirement and took a general painting course. Being without an art class my entire freshmen year, the reentry of art into my life put me at such ease. I realized that I needed art to have an active role in my life. Without this role, my life lacked an excitement, a certain vigor.

As a junior in college, I chose to fully embrace my artistic eye and appreciation for the aesthetic. Deciding to minor in art, my class courses and extracurricular activities began to reflect my rediscovered passion. This spring I had the opportunity to both take a Gallery Management course at Rhodes and also intern with the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.

Learn more about this story in our next piece, "Exhibitions: An Intern's Perspective; Part Two"