Mollie Friedlander '14

Portrait of an artist: Emily Hochman ’15

Dressed in maroon corduroys cuffed at the ankle, strappy suede sandals and an oversized sweater, Emily Hochman ’15 exudes the aura of an artist—as she rightly should. Hochman spent the summer living in rustic Canada as an artist-in-residence on Kent Island, a research outpost owned by the College.
While most people go to Kent Island to pursue biology research, Hochman, set out to film a documentary.
Hochman observed several other Bowdoin students doing field research projects based out of the Kent Island facility. She is working this semester on an independent study with Sarah Childress, visiting assistant professor in film studies, to compile the footage she collected.

Portrait of an artist: Mark Hansen '14

Gilgamesh, Humbaba and Enkidu might sound like gibberish to most, but to Mark Hansen ’14, those words are automatic. Hansen’s eyes light up when he talk about the “Epic of Gilgamesh,” a poem about Mesopotamian mythology. Hansen, an Earth and Oceanographic Science (EOS) major, is currently working on a visual arts independent study with the classics department in which he will recreate the epic through a series of annotated illustrations.
Hansen is a storyteller at heart. He learned about the poem in a classics mythology course with Classics Lecturer Michael Nerdahl, his current advisor on the project. After his class, he was hooked on the story and wanted to explore it further as well as examine it through a visual arts lens. Hansen said his passion for the project “came from a scholarly interest and a love for myth.”
Hansen has always been interested in writing and illustrating. He has taken numerous art classes both on and off campus, and interned this past summer at the art museum in his hometown of Anchorage, Alaska where he learned more about the curatorial side of art. He hopes to someday write and illustrate his own books.

Portrait of an artist

Yasmin Hayre

Staff Writer

September 26, 2013

Courtesy of ObviousGurl

IN SYNC: Obvious performs a dance choreographed and directed by Friedlander from Spring 2012.

Mollie Friedlander ’14 has been dancing since she was nine years old. What she describes as “terrible feet and an imperfect sense of balance” has helped her find a creative outlet within an ambitious Bowdoin career.

Actively involved in her high school dance teams—including lyrical, jazz, and hip hop—dance was her most important extracurricular activity before Bowdoin. She performed in multiple competitions, took ballet to keep up the basic techniques of dance, and practiced in a local studio.
Friedlander said that when she made the high school teams she “felt accomplished...I soon found I was really passionate about it and wanted to continue.

“Coming to Bowdoin I made a conscious decision to prioritize academics, but I knew I wanted to dance. I loved it so much that I knew it wasn’t something I could just drop after high school,” she explained.

At Bowdoin, Friedlander is involved in Arabesque (Ballet) and Vague (Jazz/Lyrical), and has been the leader of Obvious (hip-hop) since the end of her sophomore year. She also participated in Elemental Dance (jazz/modern) as a first year.

However, her heavy dance involvement hasn’t stunted her academic growth—she is a pre-med double major in neuroscience and Spanish with a minor in chemistry. She also studied abroad in Argentina. However, Friedlander admits it is difficult to factor dance into her academic life, and notes that her class schedule often conflicts with her dance committments.

In addition to her rigorous course load, Friedlander is a tutor for the Quantitative Reasoning Program, a study group leader for chemistry, a research mentor for two first years, and an admissions tour guide.

However, Friedlander finds dance as a way of “de-stressing from all of it. It’s not an academic pursuit, which makes it more fun. You lose yourself in the music and leave your academic worries at the door.”

She noted that dance made her step outside of her comfort zone—namely becoming the leader of a hip hop group—but that is something she appreciates about dance.

“It’s always been a challenge and pushed me past my limits. I think that is mainly why I love it,” she said.

Because of her hectic schedule, Mollie never knows when inspiration for choreography for Obvious will strike.

“It usually happens on the stationary bike at the gym, or bopping along the radio while driving home,” she said. “To be honest, it’s all about the music. A song will get my feet tapping and I’ll run to a studio or start haphazardly dancing around my room.”

Friedlander is pleased that Bowdoin places an emphasis on a well-rounded educational experience.

“I dance twelve to eighteen hours a week and still do an honors project with the neurology department. I didn’t have to choose and only focus on one academic discipline,” she said.

After graduation, Friedlander is primarily focused on applying to MD-PhD programs to become a physician scientist. While she notes that this is a seven-to-nine-year commitment, there is one thing that will keep her grounded.

“Dance will be an outlet...it does a great job of helping me putting aside academics and escaping high stress situations—even if for only a couple of hours each day.”

She acknowledged that it will not require the same time commitment that she put in during college, but she definitely wants to continue pursuing it.

“It isn’t something I want to pursue professionally, but it will continue to be an important of my life in some way, shape or form...even if it’s on the dance floor at my kid’s wedding.”

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