As the 2024 school year draws to a close, Ethan Anderson (12) has reflected on his last 4 years at Manitou and how he has spent that time fueling his various passions, one of which being the creative arts. Students of MSHS will recognize Anderson as a bright and cheerful peer of artistic talent, and may harken back to various displays of his art in the SILC building over the past years. Now that Anderson’s high school years are coming to an end, his current plan is to attend the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) and further hone his skill and passion for creation.
Anderson has had a long history with art, both in life and in MSHS in particular, and has expressed his passion for the subject through many art pieces, for instance a particular animated piece done by carving each frame of animation out of material. “I animated a walk cycle,” Anderson said. “It’s eight frames long, and I carved all eight of those frames onto linoleum and then printed them so it’s like a stop motion with prints that I made.”
Anderson hopes that his passion for creative arts is matched by his next school. “I had a few criteria for choosing a college,” Anderson said. “The first is that I am a very very good artist and in order for college to be worthwhile for me, I have to go to a very good art school.”
Anderson narrows the search for schools through the need for an arts focused college that is progressive and in a safe location.
“Location was actually the main thing for me,” Anderson said. “I’m very picky about where I want to live, so I couldn’t do anywhere in the South, And I couldn’t do any states that aren’t trans friendly, which narrows it down more than you’d think.”
With Anderson’s college narrowed down, he kept continuing the work needed for the portfolio and preparation to attend in the fall. And as this future draws closer, Anderson’s mother Cindy Anderson expresses her excitement with MCAD and Anderson’s future.
“I am so proud of Ethan and his hard work that earned him a scholarship and acceptance into MCAD,” Cindy Anderson said. “I think he is going to have so many amazing opportunities and I can’t wait to see where life takes him.”
Ethan Anderson has received $92,000 towards a future at MCAD across all four years. “When I was admitted, they informed me that I had won the highest possible base merit scholarship,” Anderson said.
Anderson’s passions for the arts naturally grants him a close relationship with his teacher Erin Gocinski, one of MSHS’s art teachers. Anderson has taken several arts classes with Gocinski at the helm across high years at Manitou Springs, from painting to drawing, and capping off his high school years with an independent study.
“Ethan is such an incredible person who is so beautifully authentic,” Gocinski said. “It has been a pleasure and honor to be alongside him as he’s grown up these past 4 years.”
MCAD describes their school on their website as “Offering a transformative education open to all backgrounds, MCAD gets you ready to confidently lead and practice in an ever-evolving world. It’s where students find their personal and professional purpose as creative leaders.”
“I do have all of these, separate interests,” Anderson said. “I’m a creature of comfort. So I knew it would be nice to go to a college that I sort of have spent time at before.”
Anderson has a hopeful attitude regarding his future after attending MCAD during an on-campus summer program for Animation before his Junior-Year. Going into an artistic and creative field, he looks forward to how MCAD can assist him in his future goals.
“There’s this one artist out there, Alberto Mieglo, he kind of has this thing where he will move all around the world, and stay somewhere for a few years and then bounce around,” Anderson said. “He’ll go on for an art directing project and then leave it and do his own thing for a while and then do another project and then do his own thing. And that’s the dream.”
