Faculty Support

Transcript

From wildlife and fisheries, to aerospace engineering, to visual and performing arts, students can conduct groundbreaking research and pursue any passion. Devante is a graduate student in the Department of Performance Studies. His time at Texas A&M has been defined by top tier resources and unique opportunities to hone his craft and help others. The stage is all yours, Devante.

Greetings Alex. I grew up watching kung fu thinking it’s the coolest art form, so I started training. I got my black stash, went to China, competed in the gay Olympics and realized that it’s a deeply healing and transformative practice. Here at A&M, the performance Studies Department is helping me to psychoanalyze these practices to understand how we can use them to heal ourselves. I’m supported by stellar faculty who listen to all my wild ideas and give me very helpful suggestions. I have access to facilities, musical instruments and props that I can use in my teaching and training and an entire collection dedicated to martial arts literature in one of the five libraries. I’m so lucky to have opportunities to teach martial arts philosophy and healing kung fu movements to students and faculty. This means I have direct feedback on the impact of my work, which is a rare opportunity. I’m also inspired by my colleagues who are doing really cool research on topics like improv comedy, international theater techniques, and music styles born out of struggle and strike. I also love how A&M is supporting the work that I do outside of school. I’m a monk who started a wellness business during the pandemic, and as things have opened up, I’ve gotten the opportunity to hold Qigong, dance, and meditation classes through the rec center and with some student organizations. Doing so has really helped others destress and deal with burnout. Before I came to A&M, I didn’t expect my research to expand this rapidly, but it did, and I’m grateful for all the support I’ve received, especially because I feel like I’m undertaking such important research. We all need healing right now. Back to you, Alex.

Devante, thank you for sharing the resources at Texas A&M help make the Aggie experience truly unique. Even with such a large student body, the campus boasts five libraries, three art galleries, and countless study spots and green spaces for students to learn and be creative.