PSFA Student Q&A: Alexander Zimmerman

As we enter the fall ‘21 semester, the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts wants to know what students are up to. Read how School of Art and Design’s Alexander Zimmerman is adjusting to and reflecting on a new and very different school year.

by Gabriela Romero

September 27, 2021

1. How has your perspective on in-person learning changed since the pandemic began?

Honesty, my perspective hasn’t changed much at all. The same things that were important about in-person learning before the pandemic are still important after the pandemic. What is a more interesting question or I think would inspire more thought from me would be “how has having classes online changed your perspective of learning as a whole?” To that I would say that there are clear situations where needing to meet in person is not necessary, and there are others where meeting in person is essential to creating good culture of learning. It became apparent to me that not every student or teacher can thrive in an online setting. There were also many students and teachers who took to the online setting with ease and saw it as an opportunity. I feel I fell into the second category. Technology was not as accessible in both hardware and fluency to a lot of students and teachers. Some students and teachers could only focus on what they didn’t have instead of looking at the situation as a challenge and have gratitude for what they did have and work to make the online environment exciting and fun.

2. What did online learning teach you about your learning style and time management?

What I learned most during the year and a half learning online about my own learning style and time management was I was able to allow my body to settle in on its natural clock. I was not confined to traditional work or school hours. I found that my body liked to get up at around 9 or 10 a.m. and go to bed around 2 a.m. I took my classes around the time I got up and was able to start working on my projects around 5 p.m. I would often work from 5 p.m. until midnight and wind down from midnight to 2 a.m. I hope the life I have after I graduate will also be able to follow a similar pattern.

3. What is your favorite part about being on campus for classes?

My favorite part of being on campus for classes is seeing people and having conversations when I run into someone. Also, as an MFA graduate student in the School of Art and Design, I have my own studio to work out of that has air conditioning. This is something I did not have in my home online environment.

4. How are you setting yourself up for success this school year?

As this is my final year as a graduate student, I’ve set myself up for success by practicing gratitude and savoring my final year. I try to recognize what a privilege it is to be a student and teacher at SDSU.

5. What are the perks of your school schedule?

This semester I don’t have classes on Friday so that’s pretty nice.

6. What is your favorite place on campus?

My favorite place on campus is my studio that I get to work and study from.

7. Do you have any faculty you would like to shout out for going above and beyond to make your online or in-person experience especially valuable?

I am grateful for Arzu Ozkal, Carlos Castro Arias, Junichi Satoh, Otto Lai, Tina Yapelli, and Adam Manley for making my online and in-person experience at SDSU especially valuable.

The content within this article has been edited by Lizbeth Persons.

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