Vegas Creative

[Gaby Zenz]

TheMaster of Fine Arts in Creative Writing is a three-year, intensive studio arts terminal degree with a strong international emphasis and requires the writing of a book-length creative thesis in either fiction, literary nonfiction, or poetry. The objectives of the MFA degree are to enable the student to master the craft of writing in the chosen genre to a publishable level; to train the student in traditional literary studies and in writing pedagogy; and to provide the student with some practical knowledge of literary translation and literary publishing. The goal of the three-year course of studies is to prepare the student for a teaching career at the university, college, or community college level and/or for writing as a profession outside of the academy; to provide the student with an international perspective on the creation, publication, and teaching of the literary arts, specifically fiction, literary nonfiction, or poetry; to encourage an appreciation of literature and writing in all its forms in a global context; and to inspire literary activism of the public intellectual and person of letters.

All MFA students admitted to the Creative Writing International program at UNLV are offered Graduate Assistantship funding of $21,000 per year (which includes in-state tuition and provisions for health insurance). Duties for the Graduate Assistantship are 20 hours per week, usually fulfilled through a combination of teaching, tutoring in the Writing Center, and working for English Department or Black Mountain Institute publications.

A person with an M.F.A. in Creative Writing may, usually with the publication of a book, teach at the university or college level; or, usually with some significant publications, at the community college level. Persons with the M.F.A. in Creative Writing may also teach high school English (in some cases, additional credits in Education courses will be required); or may teach many disciplines of English at schools and institutes abroad. Because of the teaching experience available from the M.F.A. at UNLV as a Graduate Assistant instructor in the English Department, common fields in which persons holding the M.F.A. degree are qualified to teach in are: composition, literature, world literature, creative writing, or business writing.

The M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing provides the student with optimum preparation to pursue professional writing as a career in the chosen genre of specialization by selling original writing to magazines, book publishers, and websites. Also, the Creative Writing International program, in partnership with the Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute, offers opportunities to work with two literary magazines: Interim and Witness. Practical experience in literary publishing combined with writing skills attained in pursuit of the M.F.A. degree provide an optimum work history to pursue a career in magazine editing, book editing, website editing, or free-lance, as copy editors or copy writers. Training in literary translation for the M.F.A. degree prepares students who also possess significant foreign language skills to pursue careers in literary and other fields of written translation.

The Department of English provides programs that transform students into engaged and informed citizens who enrich the vitality of their local and global communities. Our majors explore literature as an artistic medium from theoretical and historical perspectives. In the process, students hone their analytical and writing skills.

The College of Liberal Arts offers students a well-rounded education in the humanities and social sciences. Students develop strong analytical and communication skills for a lifetime of learning and discovery that can be applied to a wide variety of careers.

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I have a confession to make. I just returned back to Louisville, and I have been to a conference where I did not even want to step out and explore the city. This was a complete first. I did not go outside for over 48 hours. I wanted to make sure I did not miss a single experience.

Now, you add the fact that I was in Las Vegas when this happened is truly a statement in itself. A city where you have SO much to do and many other iconic attractions - and I didn't do any of them. This conference captured not only attention, but my creative soul, and that is a first.

You may be asking what conference is this and where do I sign up. I'll tell you. EDUMax and Adobe MAX have become my favorite branded conference experience. This is my third Creative Campus event by Adobe, but my second MAX. I attended for the first time last year, where I wrote this summary of my experience (which was fabulous), and I was able to return again this year. However, I was invited as a Creative Campus Thought Leader, one honor I will truly treasure.

What were some of the lessons and takeaways I walked away with? Let me share with you what I learned in the few days I was in Las Vegas with Adobe (you can also see this post here as an Adobe Spark Page):

This was consistent throughout the two events from Adobe. They have not only feel education is important, but they truly embrace all aspects of education. This was very awesome to see and experience in person.

I was very, very impressed with the community and acknowledgements that were made for educators during both events. I had a chance to chat with many professionals from Adobe, and I was greeted with a friendly smile, handshake, and a thank you. I was approached by several professionals who knew I would be in attendance and introduced themselves and thanked me for the blog post I wrote last year about my experience at Adobe MAX and EDUMax.

Have I ever gotten this type of reaction from academic conferences? No. Not in the same way. This meant a lot to me because it shows the community, culture, and commitment Adobe is showing for education.

Even Michael Ninness of Adobe Spark shared in his Spark presentation how we should all thank teachers and educators for the work they do to help the industry. I have been to several trade conferences and events, and this was the first time I have ever heard an industry professional, representing a global leading brand, go out of their way in their presentation to thank educators.

This truly made an impact for me, and I am very grateful Michael was able to do this and share his story of his graphics design teacher who helped him become the professional he is today. Thank you, Michael.

What was fun was to help others create their own stories and experiences. This year, I had a chance to not only enjoy MAX and EDUMax myself, but also share the journey with two fellow professor colleagues, Amber Hutchins (Kennesaw State University) and Emily Kinsky (West Texas A&M).

For me, I was able to experience and see their excitement and true joy as they were able to listen, learn, and engage with others at both events. I was thrilled to see this - because I was felling the exact same way. This was truly a wonderful experience for us to be a part of, and as we designated ourselves as the #AdobeSquad, I hope other educators will join us in being part of the Adobe Family.

When you think Adobe has launched all of the possible apps and features that are out there.. wait. They always have something up their sleeve and this year's event was where they were able to showcase all of the latest updates to their largest crowd of creatives, which was pretty cool to see.

There were a ton of updates I felt were very, very cool. Project Felix became Adobe Dimension - which focused on 3D modeling for creatives. This was very cool to see and I could see this being applied for a variety of different classes such as Brand Management, PR Campaigns, and even Social Media Marketing (if you were creating content to be posted on social media w/ these 3D images). I loved the new updates for Adobe Spark - love the fact you are able to brand content and share these via social. I have been part of the Adobe Spark Insiders group for over a year now, and this is one of my favorite communities. I also loved the fact in Premiere, you have new responsive timing and video features, and amount of AR/VR features for creatives is AMAZING! Loved hearing all of this during the main keynote event. So exciting!

Basketball has Michael Jordan. Swimming has Michael Phelps. When it comes to providing some of the most incredible swag items for conferences, you got to give the prize to Adobe. Adobe is the indeed GOAT (greatest of all time) when it comes to swag. They always bring their A game, and this was definitely apparent for this year's EDUMax and Adobe MAX.

Along with great items to be able to bring back to our offices and classes, what I really liked was the fact that Adobe focused on digital experiences and assets as well. For example, you were able to get social media headshots (LinkedIn and Lynda), as well as double exposure photos (done by Adobe Creative residents), and personalized t-shirts. These items allowed attendees to show - hey! I was able to not only get swag, but get something that is unique and personalized to me! Plus, each of these items we were able to collect from the conference have a story to them. We are able to pass along to others - hey, I was able to get this while at Adobe Max and EDUMax, and let me tell you about it. Perfect conversation starter for sure with fellow colleagues and students.

And I have to say - as a foodie myself - the food was amazing. We had truly epic foodie experiences here and the reception for Adobe MAX was awesome. We had everything from Chinese food to having a cookie dough station (!!!!).

Not to mention, EDUMax had TWO receptions this year. We had a chance to open up the experience and meet some of the fellow educators, Adobe professionals, and higher education professionals at The Wynn hotel.

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