Sandra Koberlein, a borough resident and Rowan University art major, is getting ready for a semester at the renowned Studio Art Center International in Florence, Italy, after winning the prestigious Seward Johnson Artist Development Travel Scholarship in November.

She, along with her husband, Lindsay, and their daughter, Ivy, will be leaving for the art school Tuesday and will start her semester Jan. 15.

“I never thought I would ever be selected for this scholarship,” she said. “I just love and thank my family for the support they’ve given me ever since I’ve gone back to school and for the push they gave me to apply for the scholarship.”

She also thanked her art history, Professor Fred B. Adelson, for bringing the scholarship to her attention and for also encouraging her to apply.

The scholarship, established by the New Jersey sculptor Seward Johnson in 2006, allows a Rowan University undergraduate art major to study at SACI for one semester each year. Interested students must be accepted by SACI in addition to meeting the criteria of the scholarship.

Koberlein was accepted for the scholarship after going through an extensive interview process and for her sterling grades and talent in all media of art.

Koberlein, who always dreamed of being an art teacher, chose to major in graphic design and advertising art when she first went to school because she figured it would be a more lucrative in the working world. Koberlein attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and graduated in 1983.

After working for several years, she explained that she felt something was missing during her time in advertising art and yearned to try and achieve her dream of being an art teacher. When she went to her husband and said she wanted to go back to school, she found he gave her his full support. She officially enrolled in Rowan University in 2004.

“Fortunately, in my stage in life, I was able to go back to school with the full support of my husband and my daughter,” she said. “The scholarship was just the icing on the cake.”

Koberlein initially wasn’t going to even apply for the scholarship. One night during dinner, she said, she mentioned the scholarship off-hand to her husband, who than convinced her to apply.

“I wasn’t even going to apply for it until he convinced me too,” she said, laughing.

Koberlein and her family will be staying in the Boboli Gardens in Florence. While at SACI, she will be studying the fresco medium of painting, which is basically a method of painting on wet plaster. By painting on wet plaster, the paint literally steeps into the material and becomes a permanent medium.

“The Last Supper,” by Leonardo da Vinci, Koberlein said, is one of the most famous fresco paintings.

She’ll also visit Murano and Milan to observe several other famous pieces of art and study other various art techniques.

Koberlein said she hopes to receive an art teaching position at one of the local Salem County schools when she returns from Italy.

“It would be so nice to work locally,” she said. “But to be an art teacher I’ll take whatever comes along my way.”

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 7th, 2007 at 4:55 pm and is filed under Education, Scholarship, Study Abroad. Tags: Scholarship, Student, Study. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.