Student Worker Profile: Sarah Hancock
In this issue, we profile Sarah Hancock, a student worker at the Curriculum Resource Center (CRC). Sarah is from the Eastern Shore, born in Salisbury and raised in Ocean City. She chose to stay local and study at SU because, she shared, SU “has all the connections and accommodations that I need, with the personable professors that I wouldn’t have gotten at a larger school.”
Sarah is working on a Bachelor of Fine Arts with concentrations in painting and new media. She recently added a concentration in ceramics and also is minoring in art history. What she enjoys most about the Art Department is “surprisingly, the curriculum ... requiring students to take such diverse classes covering different mediums has allowed me to discover new art forms I wish to pursue.” After graduation next year, she plans “to work part time in the graphic design industry, while continuing independent work when off the clock. Illustration and writing are in the near future.”
Sarah has worked at the CRC since spring 2021. She staffs the front desk, “handling everything from greeting guests to assisting with small events and recently organizing our SU Student Gallery Wall.” She observes that a benefit of her job is that it has given her “access to great children’s literature as inspiration for [her] own artwork, as well as meeting great professors from the education and social work program.” She shared that it also “has helped my work pace tremendously. My time and stress management skills have definitely improved. I also always know where to go if I need resources for research.”
Iris Jenkins, the CRC technician, works closely with Sarah and nominated her to be profiled. Sarah had been coming to the CRC every day to study since starting at SU in 2019, so Iris asked if she’d like to work at the CRC. Iris praises Sarah’s great work ethic, noting that she “always greets patrons with a smile and the utmost respect. Anything that is asked of her, she does it and even offers to help with projects that we hold here in the CRC.” Patrons often compliment the displays of books and puppets that Sarah creates.
Iris adds that the SU Student Gallery Wall mentioned above is Sarah’s idea, an effort to promote and support local artists. She observes that “The CRC’s focus is on children’s literature – picture books and illustrations – so it only made sense to [Sarah] to start displaying the work of some of SU’s fine art students. With rotating works and series, Sarah ... is now the curator of this humble promotion of the area’s future artists.”
Keep up the great work, Sarah!