Applying, visiting and interviewing for colleges are all things that seniors think about this time of year. Last Monday, senior Mykayla Dennix was going to travel to Houston to meet with admissions counselors from Pratt Institute, an art and design college located in Brooklyn, New York. However, due to nerves, she ended up not attending.

“I decided not to go because I didn’t feel like I was prepared enough,” Dennix said. “I had two weeks to put everything together while most people have all of high school. I was super stressed, panicked big time, and I only thought four of my pieces were good enough, so I was under a lot of pressure.”

For the meeting, Dennix was asked to bring a portfolio that contained between 12-20 pieces of original artwork. If she had gone, the admissions counselors would have reviewed her portfolio and provided her with feedback and advice on how to continue developing it.

“Since the amount of pieces required for my portfolio was 12 to 20, I settled for a nice sweet spot of 15 pieces,” Dennix said. “I had multiple pieces including a few masks, water paintings, regular paintings, charcoal pieces, and sketches. The art pieces had to be different medias and different designs that represented me and who I was.”

To get her pieces completed in time, Dennix had some help. Her mom went out and got her materials, art teacher Amanda Harter and Bison Belle Director Melissa Isaacs both gave her class time to work, and Lela Patterson took pictures of the pieces that were too big to bring.

“Mykayla is really talented, and her art shows it,” Patterson said. “I was more than happy to help Mykayla with her portfolio. Even though she didn’t go, I think she’ll be prepared for the next time, and if she needs my help next time, I’ll be happy to help her.”

Dennix says that Pratt is a really good art school, but she was only looking into it in case she decided to do art for a living. She wants to keep her options open.

“I’m not sure I would pursue art as a career, because of the high risk of not making money for awhile,” Dennix said. “I actually want to pursue reconstructional archeology, but I’m still looking into a few places.”

Even though she didn’t attend this meeting, Dennix plans on attending other showings in the spring.

“I think if I would have gone, it would have been a good experience,” Dennix said. “By not going this time, I’ve given myself more time to prepare for showings in the spring. With more time to prepare, I think I can create better pieces, but as an artist judging her own work, I’ll never think any of my pieces are good enough.”