Student Snapshot: Jackson Rhodes ’21
Jackson Rhoads
After working as an interpretation assistant in The Trout Gallery, Jackson Rhoades ’21 is planning a career in museum education. Below, he discusses the seminar that inspired his career as a Dickinson art-history major, his experiences studying abroad in China and more.
Hometown:
Lexington, Massachusetts.
Major:
Clubs and organizations:
The Square and The Trout Gallery.
Favorite book:
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse.
On choosing Dickinson:
I knew I was interested in a small, liberal-arts school, and Dickinson had a palpably different energy than the other schools I toured. Maybe that’s in part because I came to campus the day that the poster pop-up shop was in the HUB, but I will stand by my original presumption that Dickinson brings together such a diverse range of students, many of whom are passionate, driven and just generally fun to be around.
On studying abroad:
I studied abroad in Beijing, China, which very quickly taught me how to exist somewhat independently in an unknown environment. I had never lived in a city before. I relished the free time I had to explore a new part of Beijing by myself or with my friends in our abroad group. (See Jackson’s award-winning study-abroad photo.)
If I could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, it would be …
Prince. I could only hope to speak to him without aggressively stammering. There are plenty of stories of him spontaneously deciding to play random sports with people, so hopefully we would stop dinner halfway through and play pickleball or something.
Favorite class/learning experience:
My First-year Seminar was extremely enjoyable for me. It was taught by a studio-art professor who specialized in drawing and printmaking, Ward Davenny. He would bring art professors to our class, or we would travel to the professor’s studio to talk about the artistic process. Ward is an exceptional artist and quite an interesting character, so there was always something enjoyable about any given class.
As I kid, I wanted to be …
… a motorcycle driver, which was as simple as that: Just a dude driving a motorcycle.
Post-Dickinson plans:
I will be studying at Tufts University this fall to receive a master’s in museum education. I gained an appreciation for art history and museum studies at Dickinson, and I credit the college with directing me toward a career path that I truly love to pursue.
Read about Jackson’s senior capstone exhibition.
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Published May 20, 2021