Art history and studio art major named December 2024 CAS Orange Gown Graduate
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
Media Contact: Elizabeth Gosney | CAS Marketing and Communications Manager | 405-744-7497 | egosney@okstate.edu
The College of Arts and Sciences Scholarship Committee selected Paige Nguyen as the CAS Orange Gown Graduate for Oklahoma State University’s Fall 2024 undergraduate commencement ceremony on Dec. 14.
An art history and studio art double major, Nguyen received the Orange Gown honor for her outstanding achievements and exemplary contributions to the OSU community over the past four years. As the Orange Gown Graduate, she will wear the orange cap and gown as well as lead faculty and students into the commencement ceremony while carrying the college’s banner.
“I did not know what an Orange Gown Graduate was at first until Dr. [Amy] Martindale called to inform me and explain a bit more about what it was,” Nguyen said. “But I was made very quickly aware of what an honor it was to be selected amongst all 24 departments in CAS.
“Getting this news from Dr. Martindale — a person that has greatly helped with my degrees over the years — felt very fitting, as if we were celebrating this accomplishment after the many trials and tribulations she had seen me overcome.”
Originally from Yukon, Oklahoma, Nguyen’s passion for art and art history paved the way for her to visualize the world in a more productive, academic and research-based fashion while at OSU. She has gained experience to show for it as a research assistant for Dr. Juan Carlos Rozo, an OSU Museum of Art intern, and a curatorial assistant at the OSU Gardiner Gallery of Art under the mentorship of Dr. Mary Claire Becker.
“Paige is a model student,” said Becker, an assistant professor in the Department of Art, Graphic Design and Art History. “Paige created graduate-level artwork as an undergraduate BA student: her portfolio is innovative, well-researched and showcases technical mastery.
“She has already established a regional reputation as an artist beyond OSU. She had work featured in Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition’s 2024 Momentum exhibition and won a Merit Award in the 2024 Print on Paseo Exhibition in Oklahoma City.”
This fall, Nguyen’s works were featured alongside other students’ art in the Gardiner Gallery’s Studio Art BA Capstone Exhibition. Her pieces, which explored her connection to family, food and culture, illustrated the breadth of skills she developed while a student.
"My most memorable moment at OSU will be the little everyday moments in the studio: timers going off every few minutes and sprinting to tend to our copper plates in the acid bath,” Nguyen said. “My lovely peers and the studio saw me at my most stressed, but I always knew I was doing it all because I loved my craft and I wouldn’t have spent my 3.5 years anywhere else.”
The next phase of Nguyen’s academic journey will be spent applying for residencies, grants and graduate printmaking programs. This week, however, she’s just looking forward to becoming an OSU alumna.
“I love my family so much,” Nguyen said. “When I heard I was selected to be the Orange Gown Graduate, I immediately thought of telling my mom and imagined her getting to see me in a fun florescent OSU gown and being so proud.”
Story By: Adeola Favour, CAS graduate assistant | fadeola@okstate.edu