— STUDENT PERSPECTIVES: EVALUATIONS — LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION Letters of recommendation available upon request... OFFICAL Student Evaluations: ASSORTED COMMENTS (Click here to view letters from students). PARSONS "My teacher for this course was the best teacher I have ever had for any subject matter. She was honest, true, real, and taught us what we needed to know. Her teaching style was on every student's level and she went out of her way to make sure each student felt that they were getting as much out of the experience as possible. She truly is an excellent teacher and works super hard." "This course really made me grow as an artist and was really well organized and thought out." "This course was not only challenging but it was fun! All of the projects were actually fun to work on and made you excited about what you were doing. I really enjoyed this course and it was by far my favorite class of this year (maybe ever). The structure of the course was great- very well organized and timed. The museum visits and trips were a great addition to the class. I also loved all of the visual history and examples of our projects that we were presented." "I've taken a lot of photography classes before, and they've all been relatively similar - not this one! I learned not only about the technical and aesthetic aspects of photography, but about the meaningand the story of it, and how that's the most important part." "My teacher Amy Finkel has been one of the greatest photography teachers i have had. She engages with everyone and helps our work to be even better. She makes everyone feel included and her teaching and organization is amazing.My projects in this class could not have come out good and brought my photography to the next level if it wasn't for her. I'm so grateful to be able to learn from such an amazing teacher." "I loved this course." "I greatly enjoyed this class. I feel as though I have grown significantly as an artist and as a person. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity." "Amy is really an incredible teacher. She works well with a group, and also gives one-on-one help to anyone who needs it." "Very effective. Never worked so hard in my life and so effectively. Best art course I have ever been in. Better than interlochen." "I have never had a professor quite like Amy before. Her passion and drive for her art resonated within all of her students including me. She definitely made me grow as an artist and has shown me the world in a different perspective. I would 100% recommend her to other photo students and I hope that I have her again in the future." "This course was effective in so many areas. I really appreciated how the course material and assignments really stuck to the theme of memory- and the best part was, despite that, the content was never boring, because memory was explored in different ways each time. This class was very assignment and tutorial driven, both of which I think were quite effective. I enjoyed learning from photoshop/preiemere tutorials in class, as well as watching films that pertained to the subject matter. The emphasis put on in class critiques was also pretty beneficial, as none of my other classes had an emphasis in this area. It was a course that made me think analytically, critically, and empathetically about memories and others, as well as myself." "Favorite class of all time." "Amy is very good at making me do my best work and I highly respect her...she's the best." "Amy was the best teacher I have ever had, and I learned so much from her." "Amy was so great and was truly my favorite professor to work with. So kind and enthusiastic about the class and what we were doing. When she gave us demos on tech programs she taught really well and her organization was great." "AMY IS THE BEST! She is such an inspiration, and wonderful leader and friend. I love how Amy made herself accessible outside of class, offering tutorials and feedback readily. She really genuinely cared about the well-being and progress of each student, and offers detailed and useful criticism during critiques. It was also great to see her work and share her life with us- the documentary film and her photography are great sources of inspiration." "She is the greatest professor I have ever had. She was so excited and interested; it made our class seem too short rather than too long some days. She was very helpful and inspiring. I would not have as powerful of a portfolio as I do if not for her." "Amy was an amazing professor. She truly cared about the students in her class and it was effectively shown week by week. She has inspired me with my art and has definitely left a lasting impression for me in my future career." [Most effective part of the course] "The teacher. I absolutley love her and she's one of my favorite educators now." "Amy was amazing, kind and compassionate....also hard when necessary ;)" "This is the greatest class I have ever had. Our projects were so challenging, difficult, thoughtful, emotional! It brought our class together emotionally and stimulated us creatively. While we competed with other classmates, we still respected them and their pieces as well as believed in our own. This class was very philosophical in a way, meaning that we discussed a lot of being a flaneur and exploring the meanings of life and looking deeper into society and asking questions. I truly loved this class." "Amy was a very effective teacher. She was very origanized and helpful. She also truly cared about students and was willing to help us more than required so that we would feel comfortable and supported." "Amy was by far one of the best teachers I have ever had the privilege of having. Amy was so positive, motivating, and helpful. There are not enough words to describe how wonderful she was. I learned so much from her- like how to use equipment, how to look at things from multiple perspectives, how to be critical, and how to do your best work. She was so well organized and you could just see her passion for the class everyday. She always supported every student and truly took time out of her schedule to do phone calls, emails, and outside sessions with us to help us with our projects. She was so committed to seeing us reach our fullest potential and enjoy the class and that truly meant the world. Best teacher ever! Her class is hands down the best thing I've experienced since coming to Parsons." "Very passionate and dedicated to her students, supportive and fun, relatable and youthful. She makes it easy to connect so you don't feel overwhelmed and if there’s a problem or difficulty in class then she is very open to talk about it. She encourages you to do your best and gives you thorough critiques to achieve this. It's constructive but never belittling." "The only comment to describe our instructor's teaching effectiveness is: perfect. I made four photo essays and two movies within a month!" "Amy did a great job teaching the concepts and ways of photoshop. She really made people think and dig deeper." "Amy's feedback on projects was definitely the most effective. She always gave good constructive criticism and ideas of what we could improve. She always pushed you to your fullest potential on every project and homework assignment." "My teacher was very effective and super helpful. I feel like I learned a lot from here about editing and technology as well as technique, and her criticism was really helpful to me." "Amy is very enthusiastic and passionate about teaching and her students, her extensive knowledge in all mediums of art and in general resources is very helpful in assisting our own projects and work. She provides great inspiration and evidently cares a lot about the course she teaches and how enjoyable it will be for her students. She makes it fun to come to class and the class environment is very relaxed and carefree allowing students to bond and work together efficiently. It's a very open environment so you feel comfortable to explore different techniques and ideas without fear of being judged, she's encouraging and pushes you to challenge your own artistic capabilities. The memory aspect was deeply personal and sometimes cathartic, the intimacy of it made the class more enjoyable and never a chore to attend." "Instructor was quick to give help if students needed it and dedicated her time to making sure everyone was on track with every project" "She's a very good teacher, she has clear instructions and she cares about the students progress and them as people/individuals." "Amy is passionate about the class she teaches. I can tell she cares and wants students to get a lot out of her class. She gives detailed and helpful comments regarding our artwork but also our portfolio posts. She is always helpful when we ask questions and is eager to spend time and help us." "Amy taught with enthusiasm, she gave us all her knowledge for us to do the best of us. On the last week of class she delivered LOTS of extra time to help us if there was any doubt on the edition." "Amy Finkel is a great teacher! She's friendly, patient, professional and responsible. She's the only teacher I've ever met that discussed with me about my final project until midnight. Thanks for her, I was able to finish two good movies and spent an unforgettable summer at Parsons. This course inspires me a lot. Not only in academic way, but also the way of thinking differently. " "Amy was such an amazing teacher. she listened when you didn't understand and made you feel comfortable in the classroom. She understood that this was hard for us to learn and encouraged us the whole time." "There is no perfect way for me to begin writing this, because the memories (no pun intended), that I have made in this Integrative Studio: Memory class are all so dear to me. This class has caused me to grow not only as an artist, but as a person. I feel like I am finally finding my true self and my true identity, all thanks to to my six hour Friday class on the 8th floor of 2 West 13th Street and of course, Amy Finkel. Some may call me a teachers pet for saying this, but frankly I don’t give a damn. Amy, you have made such a huge impact on my life. I hope you know that you are truly a special person and that you have such an immense amount of talent. I am so grateful that you share your talent through teaching, because I don’t think I would honestly be at Parsons OR art school at all without you. Most students that I talk to outside of our class can’t stop complaining about their studio class, and I just can’t stop bragging. I feel like I have learned so very much in such a short few months. When I first came to Parsons, I was on the fence. I had no idea where I would end up or if I would know that I had made the right decision by moving 1800 miles, but now I am confident that I did. We have learned so many different mediums in this class, 3D, 2D, film, photography, and so so much more. I feel more confident in my work and even in the PROCESS and planning of my work. Believe it or not, this class has even made me more organized. I know I have learned new skills in this class and I can’t wait to apply them to everything I do, not only at Parsons, but in my future career. Thank you again." "Amy is a great teacher, and did a really good job teaching web design which is a very hard subject to teach and she did a great job going slowly and helping everyone." "She created a GREAT atmosphere that made coming to class enjoyable. There didn't seem to be much pressure even though the workload was pretty intense. From my perspective the grade I receive is an afterthought and the experience & what I get out of the class is actually the reward." "Amy is an excellent teacher and communicates the material very well. She put together an incredibly insightful, helpful, and challenging course that made me understand web design in a completely different and better way than I had before. She worked with each student's different background without slowing the course down. She packed an incredible amount of material into the short time that we had. She was prepared, thoughtful in her criticism, and articulate. I got a lot out of this course." "This was possibly one of the best courses I have taken at Parsons." "Amy is a very cool and enthusiastic teacher and it's great fun to be in class. I liked the way she explained very complicated techniques, which definitely made everything easier to understand." "Amy was highly motivated and got me excited about the subject matter." "Amy was the best teacher I have had at the New School yet, I loved every class we had and learned a ton." "Amy was an incredible well of patience and enthusiasm. She was always encouraging and always made students feel their questions were reasonable. A great instructor." "The discussions we have in class and the sources Amy shares with us are all very very helpful. We actually learn and are inspired by the sources we share with us." "She was amazing and very good at communicating very complicated topics with ease.Very effective, I cannot recommend her highly enough." "She is a great teacher. Explains things in a very simple way." "Amy's hands-on instructions and her support as well as Amy's way of explaining complex subjects in a simple enough way to understand them, plus her talent to take away some of the fears of many a designer related to geeky, complicated math when it comes to programming and coding made this course a success." "Amy is very patient, she goes over material until everyone understands it." "Amy was fantastic. She was extremely knowledgeable, patient and helpful. She had a way of explaining foreign concepts in ways that were very easy-to-understand. What could have been very overwhelming was made relevant and exciting. There was a lot of material for her to cover in just 10 classes and she did a great job utilizing the time in each class wisely." "I think Amy is a great instructor! She seems to have a natural talent as a teacher and motivator. She cares about her students' progress and understanding of the topics covered. I feel like for me it was well worth attending this course." "This course really let me be freely creative. It made me think more broadly about all the options I have on how to convey something and storytelling through art." "My teacher was very effective in her teaching and enthusiasm which made me even more interested in the course. I learned a lot of skills from her." "The teacher is very well organized, very enthusiastic, she bring a lot of different things to class which makes class not boring at all. She took us to various museums and showed us very interesting films." "It was such a pleasure to learn from Amy. I learned a lot from her and will really miss her next semester. I will definitely take another class Amy teaches if I am able to." "Keep her around, she was one of the better teachers I had at Parsons." "During critiques we are definitely able to see HOW we can improve and alter our piece. Before we start on our project we are urged to write blog posts and draft out our project in writing. This process is really helpful because we can visualize our plan and also notice how things would work and not work. Amy is flexible if something goes wrong during experimentation and gave us more time. This really helped us learn the process of experimentation." "The midterm and the final were really the most be beneficial parts of the class because the class because they really tied together everything that we learned. Amy was also very enthusiastic and used class time well. She is really a very good teacher." "How open minded the projects were, the way the teacher pushed students to their best, the time the teacher took to actually involve with students and help each and every one of us." "Clear instruction with creatively challenging projects." "I think the most effective aspect of this course is that our teacher pushes us to do our best to create and think. She inspires me a lot about the concept of my work and pushes me to go out of my comfort zone, which is very helpful for me." "On-site field trips learning about film and photography. I liked that we were taken on a trip to coney island and individually given pointers on how to improve our skills. Every part of this course was fantastic." "Our final project included a lot of research, testing, edits, and drafting. My partner and I had to plan out our project first multiple times and were constantly testing new media to use for our project. Amy's feedback was also very effective because it helped us improve along the way of our research." "She is great, it is easily noticed that she knows what she is doing." "She knows how to teach, and has very helpful feedback when it comes to work." "Amy is a great teacher." "Nothing but positive things to say." "We all walked in there knowing basically nothing about web design and left having coded our own. Amy's ability to make me understand the material and also help me outside of class was amazing." "I think each homework assignment really helped understand and build upon the information taught in class. Web design is such a hard subject to teach and I think it was done really well through the assignments." "Amy is a great teacher. She is able to explain CSS, slicing and HTML in very simple ways that allow for her students to follow quickly." "Amy's enthusiasm and encouragement for us to keep up with pace and throw ourselves into assignments." "The assignments were effective because they forced us to demonstrate what we were taught in class that week." "I really enjoyed this class!" "Had and amazing experience, thank you Amy!" "In the end this became one of the classes that I truly wish didn't end. I actually had a lot of fun every Thursday night. I just wish she taught the more advanced level at Parsons so I can take that as well." "Amy taught us as much as she possibly could in the time allotted, I don't think my brain could have absorbed anymore, but we NEED a second web design class." "All the "hands on" part, were we could use our equipment and earn practical experience. Also the screenings and other material that the teacher brought was very interesting and helpful." "She is very enthusiastic on what she does and knows the subject clearly." "Amy is a great teacher, and that is essential when trying to teach HTML, CSS, and slicing all in a few weeks. Every week was packed with new material but it wasn't overwhelming because we always had time to review." "Very effective. Always answered emails and very enthusiastic. The class had a variety of students at different skill sets and it seemed like everyone got out of the class what they wanted and seemed to have all their questions answered. I would definitely recommend Amy as a web design instructor." "I loved this course and I wish there was a continuation course." "Amy is a great teacher. She makes CSS and HTML seem so easy and fun to learn." "Amy is very knowledgable and patient. This was a great course." "Although the course is way too short, Amy tried to give us the most material she could, which was much appreciated." "Very good and helpful in teaching and responses to e-mail questions timely." "She is helpful when it comes to the overall design aspect and extra things that we wanted to learn that was not in the syllabus." "Class time was crucial. This is where we would learn the most. Critique was also very valuable." "Each assignment improved my knowledge of the material. Creating three websites-one in the beginning, one for the midterm, and one for the final-was very challenging, but it pushed me to work in a faster pace and learn from past mistakes." "I think the course was great. All of my expectations were met and the class exceeded what I wanted to learn and accomplish." "I liked the pace of the class, which made me understand the content better and the assignments; gives the student a lot of freedom but also creatively challenging." "I thought the course description fit perfectly from what I got out of the class." "I was able to learn the simplest design program to the more complicated ones" "She stressed that she didn't need to teach us how to code in html slices, but explained that it was the foundation basis which actually helped with our overall understanding of website construction downstream. She also gave us alot of freedom over how we wanted to design two of our sites, and incorporated a client assigned site as the midterm. This was extremely beneficial in two functions: showing us how to work within client expectations/limitations while having to knowing our client's audience before we design; and also giving us complete freedom to have fun with what we want to create." "It was great. Very challenging, but that's the nature of the course." "Amy is amazing. She knows her subject and she knows how to teach. Web design and codes can very easily get boring, but with her cheerful and humorous personality, she made the topics interesting. Her class is enjoyable and informative at the same time." "Amy was fantastic. She taught in the most respectful and enjoyable manner that it made me want to do my best work. I honestly am sad I won't have her for web 2." "She was very clear in delivering the material." "She was very kind and smart." "Teacher communicated and taught on a level that worked for the students. She was EXTREMELY knowledgeable on the subject matter. There was a lot of material covered for this course and Amy was always willing to answer questions outside of class through email." "Very effective. I was able to understand coding without any problems and when I did encounter a problem, Amy was able to help me immediately. " "I wish Amy can teach Web 2 and 3 as well just as a continuation from the class. She really helps us understand the course and the basics well, but I feel like she has so much more that she wants to teach to us but because of the time limit we can't." "I feel very lucky that she was the teacher of my first web design course. Thank you Amy!!" NYU "The instructor is excellent. She is really creative, always brought a lot of energy to the class, good critique, and extremely well organized." "No suggestions for the instructor. She was great. I think the expectations and speed of the clas were appropriate. And she made what could have been a bore of a class a lot of fun." "Amy Finkel was one of the best teachers I have ever had. She was always reachable and took a lot of time to answer individual questions. She explained everything in a way that even the slowest student (me = ) would understand the material. We learned a tremendous amount of material, the class and the instructor were just great!" "Amy was really helpful and such a great teacher. She left assignments open to interpretation and was funny and had such interesting things to say. Nothing I would change, really." "Super challenging class with a great professor!" "Was very willing to help students outside of our allotted class time." "Course changes? Nothing :) I think it's pretty great as it is!" "Amy's method of utilizing her website along with Wordpress to organize the class and our assignments was excellent." "The in-class demonstrations of how to use the software and complete all of the assignments. Also the professor's availability to help us outside of class as much as possible." "We need more Parsons teachers." "Amy's teaching methods and assignments made the subject really interesting" "The course was very well thought out, and each class exercise took you into the next class. It was very streamlined and made excellent use of my time." "This is a great class. Amy Finkel does a great job teaching it. Her persistence is very encouraging and her knowledge is very impressive. I feel very comfortable knowing that I can go onto the next class and know what I'm talking about because of the wide range of things she's taught us." "I am now able to create and make a website live. Amy did a great job of always being there to answer our questions and help us. She also effectively organized the course so that it was a building process." "All of them. Every class introduced a new topic that was relevant to a career environment I might find myself in one day." "The course outlines on the class website were very helpful, as were the resources linked on the website." LETTERS FROM STUDENTS "I remember my first day of class with Amy Finkel. It was my first week of college at Parsons the New School for Design. If it wasn’t scary enough to move from Brazil to New York, the quiet atmospheres of my previous classes constantly intimidated me. The course Integrative Studio: Memory was the last class of the week and I was extremely nervous since it was a 6 hours long class. I would never expect that the longest class of the week would be by far my favorite one. Not only was the content of the class rich and fruitful, but also the class’ atmosphere. One might think of this as pure luck, but I believe that it was all thanks to our teacher. Amy made sure to include all students, whether if it was during in-class discussions, presentations, projects or even outside of school. I enjoyed how she would give a lot of thought for our projects, making them extremely interesting and enjoyable! I honestly dislike having partner projects and I know that most of the projects for Integrative Studio was a requirement, which is why I am grateful for Amy’s consideration in relation to this! She would make sure to carefully choose our partners based on our artistic style, interests and even personality by asking us questions and constantly talking to us. This saved me a great deal of stress and I couldn’t be more grateful for her consideration towards her students! Moreover, it was her enthusiasm and her true interest on the topic memory that made me enthusiastic myself to learn about it. I know that I am not the only student that thinks this way and I speak for the whole class when I say: Truly, thank you so much for everything! Although it was only one semester long, I feel that it was worth years of teaching. There was no moment I ever regretted taking this class. In fact, I am grateful I did. Sincerely your ex-student, Adriana" "Dear Amy, Thank you for being my teacher, it was the most wonderful experience I’ve ever had when learning art. Well, I find it difficult to enumerate all the positive influence you had on me. As a teacher, you are more than patient and professional. You were teaching us how to use Final Cut—that software was so intricate and unfamiliar to me. While every time I had a question, you taught me how to deal with it step by step. Without your instruction, I would have never finished my documentary. When I asked for your permission to start another documentary, you talked to me on the phone for an hour and it was 1 a.m. Instead of agreeing or rejecting my idea, you cared a lot about the idea, content and my shooting plan. Also, you explained the techniques about using cameras in great details that I seldom had trouble when shooting photo essays.Apart from a patient and professional teacher, I consider you as a friend, who is open-minded, energetic, friendly, and wise. At the end of the course, I remembered that you, Sarah and me talked in the classroom for an hour. We talked about lots of things, such as new movies, the course, etc. It was surprising to have a teacher that was so kind to her students. Anyway, it’s too hard to list everything: the inspiration that I got in your class, the skills that I learnt, the attitude towards art, the idea of walking out of my comfort zone, the insistence of being an artist, the importance of innovation… Thank you so much Amy, you are the most remarkable and interesting teacher I’ve met. All the best, Coco" "I just completed a very short film for my portfolio based on the Walter Benjamin essay illuminations, you had us read. Your class continues to inspire me and and really made such a big difference for me in my life. I cannot thank you enough. Sincerely, Ava" "Dear Amy, Thank you for the amazing summer. You were one of my favorite teachers ever. You created a learning environment that was of open mind, where no topic, idea, or thought was taboo. You indulged in my learning experience both inside and outside the classroom more than any other teacher. And you were balanced and always considered the opinions of all of us. Thank you for everything. Hope to learn from you in the future, Daniel" "Hey Amy!!!!! I just wanted to thank you for such an awesome Summer. I wanted to come up and talk to you after the presentations but I had to get to the airport :( You are the greatest teacher I have ever had, I appreciate all of your honesty and everything you have taught us this summer. Every moment was worth it (even the delirious and tearful ones). Haha. Anyways, thanks so much! Natalie" "I cannot think of a happier boy than him if he ends up being taught by you again. No doubt, you brought out the confidence and talent in him through the way you teach and treat your students. Jesus, you "get" him nearly better than his own mother! :) Your feedback was so perceptive, generous and validating. Thank you again! —Cecilie (Student's Mother)"