(EPCC ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDING – Jan. 26, 2023) – More than 100 El Paso ISD visual arts students met with and presented their works of art during the fourth annual Sun City Portfolio Day on Thursday at the El Paso Community College Administrative Services Center.

The Sun City Portfolio Day, sponsored by EPCC, provided students from the El Paso, Socorro and Ysleta school districts with an opportunity to showcase their artwork to potential colleges and universities in one place without having to travel outside the city. Students spoke to art school representatives both online and in-person.

“It’s been great to be here,” said Chapin High junior Robert Dennis. “It’s been great to have this opportunity to visit universities and see what they have to say about my art.”

Dennis was encouraged by the feedback from the Texas Tech University representative and will continue visiting schools until he finds the right fit to pursue his career.

“I’m really interested in taking art to the next level,” he said. “I’m taking teaching into consideration. I think about teaching on a daily basis, what I’d be like as an art teacher and what I’d do with my students to make it fun. I’m also thinking about being an illustrator or animator.”

Coronado High junior Alan Herrera made his way through some of the virtual and in-person visits to learn about the colleges and get feedback about his fashion design.

“They told me I need to work on the physical drawings,” said Herrera, who showcased his virtual portfolio. “It was good feedback for future reference.” 

He’s hoping to attend a college in New York or Los Angeles – closer to the fashion industry.

“I’ve always been interested in clothing as a kid,” he said. “But recently I’ve been inspired by my teacher Mr. Hernandez. He’s been teaching me to stitch and taught me I could make everything and anything I would want to wear.”

Burges High junior Charlotte Frost knows she’ll be going to college but hasn’t settled on a major yet. Thursday’s portfolio day event gave her a chance to explore the colleges and classes they offered, plus show off her work.

“I really wanted them to see my pieces get critiqued, so I could get better. They told me to focus more on my collages and multimedia work,” she said. “This also lets me see what colleges are available and what kind of classes they have that I can focus on.”

The colleges and universities that participated include:

• Academy of Art University San Francisco

• Carnegie Mellon School of Art Pittsburgh

• College for Creative Studies Detroit

• El Paso Community College 

• Laguna College of Art and Design Laguna Beach

• Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) Baltimore

• Minneapolis College of Art and Design Minneapolis

• New Mexico State University 

• Otis College of Art and Design Los Angeles

• Rhode Island School of Design Providence

• School of the Art Institute of Chicago

• Sul Ross State University

• Texas Tech University Lubbock

• The University of Texas at Austin, College of Fine Arts 

• University of North Texas 

• University of Texas at El Paso 

• University of Texas at San Antonio School of Art 

• VCUarts Richmond