Volume 126 Issue 37
kansan.com
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
YVONNE SAEN7/KANSAN
LAWRENCE
Gina Westergard, associate professor of metalsmithing and jewelry, shows her art. She received the Featured Artist Award at the 2013 Lawrence Art Walk.
CREATIVITY COUNTS
Associate professor Gina Westergard receives Featured Artist Award
MCKENNA HARFORD
mharford@kansan.com
Gina Westergard, an associate professor of metalsmithing and jewelry at the University, always knew she would have a creative profession. Her passion for creating art paid off this past weekend when she received the Featured Artist Award at the 2013 Lawrence ArtWalk, an award voted on by other artists at the event.
challenging. Westergard feels that
"It meant a lot to me because they were other artists recognizing me, so their perspective on it is maybe a little different from somebody who isn't an artist," Westergard said. "I was very humbled by it and very honored."
The show, where Westergard sold jewelry, vessels and urs allowed Westergard to try out new techniques and designs. These pieces took anywhere from hours to months to create, so when Westergard sold a majority of her work, she considered the show a success.
"This was a good opportunity for me to get to show my work for people who don't often see it", Westergard said.
As a teacher, Westergard has
the freedom to make the type of creative work she's interested in. Working with metal also gives her the chance to diversify her works, which she says all "focus on the body in very different ways."
Westergard said her art is often inspired by nature, such as the change in seasons and the Kansas landscape, which translates into her work through color and design. After Westergard strikes inspiration, the creative process begins.
According to Westergard this process is both critical and analytical, but an intuitive process also develops over time.
"You know when it's done, or when it's right, when it makes you wiggle all over," Westergard said. "There's just something inside that's winking, and
"Hopefully they learn to think outside of the box. In any career you have that's going to be helpful to you."
you know it's right and happy; it's like a happy dog."
GINA WESTERGARD
Associate professor
weergeluk teken it helps to be enthusiastic about the work that her students are doing.
Many students find that learning to follow their intuition can be
"I want to just be there for them so that their making process is a positive one, and rewarding." Westergard said.
"Hopefully they learn to think outside of the box. In any career you have that's going to be helpful to you." Westergard said.
One of the many benefits of teaching, according to Westergard, is the chance to be around creative thinkers and innovative people. Because of this,
One of the many
she feels that even students who don't major in art can learn a lot from this environment.
But in her classes, students aren't the only ones learning.
"I hope when I teach that I give something to my students, but I don't know sometimes if they realize how much they give back to us," Westergard said.
—Edited by Sarah Kramer
HEALTHCARE University hospital wins consumer award
For the second year in a row, the University of Kansas Hospital was awarded the National Research Corporation Consumer Choice Award for
Kansas City earlier this month. More than 270,000 households took part in a nationwide survey and local results from the survey selected the University's hospital as the regional winner.
Four main categories were used to determine the success of the hospital: best overall
quality, reputation, doctors and nurses, according to the National Research Corporation's website. The hospital serves more than 28,000 inpatients annually, according to kumed. com.
Results from the survey showed that the University
of Kansas Hospital led other regional hospitals, including Shawnee Mission Medical Center, North Kansas City Hospital and Saint Luke's Hospital by substantial margins
— Jose Medrano
CRYPTOQUIPS 5A
OPINION 4A
CLASSIFIEDS 2B
CROSSWORD 5A
SPORTS 1B
SUDOKU 5A
Grace period ends for student loans
CODY KUIPER
Don't forget Move your cars before the basketball game.
FINANCES
ckuiper@kansan.com
In November, the six-month grace period during which payments for student loans are not required will end, and millions of college graduates will begin to chip away at their new debt.
Across the country, 37 million students combine to make up $1 trillion in student debt, making it the biggest consumer debt outside of mortgages. At the University specifically, 53 percent of graduates leave with debt and owe an average of more than $22,000, according to Project on Student Debt.
Yoon Sook Chung, a senior educator for Student Money Management Services at the University, says many young Americans are ill-informed when it comes to borrowing for school.
"When they come in, freshmen don't know what they're getting into and seniors don't know what their doing when they're about to begin their repayment" Chung said. "They don't know how much they can afford, they take out too much money, they don't know about grace periods. There's a lot they don't know."
Chung said most public student loan payment plans fall into three categories that can last up to 25 years: 10-year payment plans, pay-as-you-earn plans and income-based plans.
Index
Here are the basics on each of those plans, and what students can expect when paying back their loans.
Standard 10-year payment plan The standard repayment plan is the most cost-effective repayment plan for students, and is normally applied to loans automatically unless other arrangements are made. Over 10 years, graduates will pay at least a $50 monthly payment, and they will pay less interest for the loan than other plans as well. With this option, the payments will remain the same throughout the repayment period, too.
"If you take a general look at everything overall, the standard plan is the one we recommend," Chung said. "Ten years is the best way to do it for most of our lives."
Under this scaled-down plan, graduates' monthly payments will be 10 percent of their income.
Pay-as-you-earn
and payments will fluctuate as their pay does. This plan is recommended for graduates who are experiencing financial hardship and are unsure if they can afford their monthly payments.
Under this plan,depending on how long payments are made the graduate may end up paying much more than under other plans because of the interest on the loan.
What makes this income-based repayment system different than most is that it only lasts up to 20 years. After that, the remaining student debt is waived by the government, and the amount waived is taxed as income. Income based
The loan forgiveness for public service employees is available to borrowers who are using the income-based repayment plan, and forgives the loan for those employed full time in a public service profession like firefighting or nursing.
Under the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program, borrowers who teach for five consecutive years in a school that serves low-income families may be eligible for loan forgiveness of up to $17,500.
However, this doesn't mean there are no opportunities for student debt to be forgiven. Among the options available to students are the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program and loan forgiveness for public service employees.
Edited by Sylas May
Income-based
Also, instead of the loan being forgiven after 20 years, it will be forgiven after 25.
"If they owe money and don't pay, the government will come and garnish their paychecks," she said. "If they do that, obviously they're going to damage their credit history so much."
One of the common misconceptions about student loans is that they can be forgiven easily through bankruptcy like most other debts, but Chung says that is not the case.
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2013 The University Daily Kansan
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STUDENT DEBT BY THE NUMBERS
COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO BORROW MONEY ANNUALLY TO COVER COSTS 60 percent
AVERAGE DEBT OF GRADUATES $22,114
PROPORTION OF GRADUATES WITH DEBT 53 percent
THE AVERAGE STUDENT OWES
$24.301
university of Kansas student loan stats (Project on Student: Debit 2011)
and National Student Loan Statistics American Student Assistance
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