Eagle Award nominee: Artist to study engineering at Case Western

Owen Crews
Sports Editor

Art by Norah Rohlfing

After being accepted into Case Western Reserve University, senior Norah Rohlfing plans to study engineering and art. Although people often go to school to discover who they are, sometimes it has always been a part of them.

“I didn’t truly pursue art. It’s just always been a part of me. It’s something I couldn’t ever imagine giving up so I chose to stick with it in college even if it’s as a minor,” Rohlfing said via email.

Photo provided by Norah Rohlfing

In addition to her acceptance Rohlfing had some insight about her love of art.

Rohlfing said via email, “I get inspired first and foremost by my practicing and experimentation. Without trying new things as frequently as I do, I wouldn’t be able to find the same level of motivation and wouldn’t see much progress in my work.”

However, Case Western also had more to offer than just the programs she was looking for.

Rohlfing said, “One of the biggest reasons I chose Case Western was because of their student to teacher ratio. With a smaller student body and larger teacher support than the average school, students can better tailor their experiences and degrees. This way it may be easier for me to continue to pursue both art and engineering.”

Rohlfing also noted how the balance of art and engineering helps her.

“My biggest conflicting traits could be considered artfulness versus structure. Art can be very fluid whereas engineering has a lot more very important rules. By participating in both art and engineering, I find balance by bringing structure and rules to my art but also by thinking more outside of the box and artfully when solving engineering problems. Although it isn’t used often, art and engineering are lovely compliments to each other,” Rohlfing said via email.

It also helps that Rohlfing had some awards to go along with her including two Gold Keys through the Scholastic Arts and Writing Competition, two Silver Keys and one Honorable Mention. She also received a four on the AP studio art portfolio.

Rohlfing also had some advice for her freshman self.

“Not everything has to be perfect. It’s easy to get caught up in working hard and striving for perfection, but sometimes perfection isn’t needed. It’s not always about how well you perform. It’s also important to look at how your performance is improving. Progress is not linear. Sometimes it’s easier and better for you to do the bare minimum so that your energy can be channeled into other things that mean more to you,” Rohlfing added via email.

Feature Art Provided by Norah Rohlfing