SUNY Cobleskill Seniors Proudly Display Semester-Long Projects

COBLESKILL - Last Thursday, SUNY Cobleskill hosted a senior art exhibit highlighting the projects in the senior art seminar program, which was run by Professor Adam Daily. Students chose their topics based on personal experience, knowledge, and the goal to improve the lives of people. 

The event began at 4:30. Eight seniors showed attendees their projects, as well as handed out business cards in the Grosvenor Art Gallery. Other student works and tables with crackers and fruit were set up in the art studio attached. Professor Adam Daily, Profesor Kayla Vaughn, and Professor Greg Miller, all from the graphic design department at the college, made their way around to oversee the event. 

Bryan Juart designed recyclable cans for water, similar to soda cans in order to reduce plastic consumption. His created brand is called Pulse, with the main color being green; which drives the core message to consumers that it is meant to be an eco-friendly business. It also aligns with SUNY Cobleskills motto of “Grow, Sustain, Renew,” as the metal alternative is much more sustainable and renewable than plastic water bottles.

Jonathan Santana created a variety of soccer jerseys for kids to wear at a summer program called On Side. On Side is meant for kids who may not have a safe place at home. Santana stated he had some semi-personalization into the jerseys. 

James Svensen focused on better eyecare for college students by creating Star Gazer. The eye glasses are going to be less expensive than the typical prescription products. Glasses also come with a thin, durable, laser etched case decorated with stars. 

Off the Bench was designed by George Machala. The program is an off-property baseball field for elementary through high school, for those that otherwise wouldn’t have an opportunity to play the game. “It’s serving a larger group of people,” Machala stated. The intention is there to be no competitiveness or being cut from the sports team, only fun for those involved. 

Jaden Sylvan focused on bringing awareness to fan violence, specifically at the NFL. He implemented statistics onto his posters such as “39% of fans have witnessed violence at the NFL.” Sylvan also has some personal experience and connections with the topic, having also seen it first-hand at games. “Fighting won’t fix the scoreboard,” he wrote. 

Little Airplane, designed by Kimberly McCann, is set to aid new parents with children. Items she created included small colorful bowls, child-size soft bandanas, and simple recipes that any child would enjoy. McCann also has a personal connection, having had children herself.

Rayna Denofio designed Firefly, a program for children of addicts to have a safe space. She created various jewelry as a demonstration of arts and crafts, stickers, and coloring books to be activities. Having a very personal experience with the topic, Denofio put in extreme effort to support others in a similar situation. One student attending asked to keep a charm Denofio made once the event concluded.

Devon Rooney created a board game called Trash To Table, in which players must compete and out-bid each other for ingredients to create food dishes. Choosable characters include five racoons and one panda, all are based on people he knows. “It’s all about getting people together post-COVID… I could’ve done a video game but that’s so oversaturated and it doesn’t have that face-to-face,” he stated. Rooney is also considering working on expansion packs for the game. 

Once attendees had browsed the exhibits for a while, Professor Adam Daily spoke to the crowd about how proud he is of the students, and that they have shown so much effort and dedication to the graphic design program. Daily then turned the floor over to Miller and Vaughn. Miller stated “They didn’t want to do it, then started doing it… doing is different than saying.” Vaughn continued with “They teach us as much as we teach them.”

In the conclusions to the event, photos were taken of the three professors and the eight students who exhibited their hard work. Vaughn concluded with “We’ve been doing the graphic design show for years and it’s been nice to be able to to showcase student work from across campus as well; it ups the excitement on campus. All of our students have hit it out of the park this year.” Seven of the exhibiting students graduated this past Saturday in SUNY Cobleskills class of 2025.