Arts at Michigan
Staff Directory
I’m a recent graduate from the LS&A with a major in history. The best part of history is the funny hats people used to wear; although, I would count typography and book-binding as greater interests of mine (with some origami on the side). I love working on the Web site for the Arts at Michigan to create an engaging experience that makes the arts an important part of campus life.Stephanie Anderson
Program Assistant
I am a proud alumni of the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance with a major in Theatre Design & Production! Most of my free time I enjoy things such as adventures, DVDs of the West Wing, teaching, classic/silent films, music, stand-up comedy, To Write Love On Her Arms, high-fives, high-tops and Wizard Rock. I’m also working on getting my MA in Arts Administration from Eastern Michigan University. For four years, I had a ton of contact with the arts here at Michigan, and I’m constantly amazed at the quality of work this university not only produces, but brings to campus for students to enjoy. Too many students don’t realize this until it is too late, and so being able to bring more students to the arts is a great experience and a lot of fun for me.
I am a current student at the School of Art and Design concentrating
in Industrial Design. When I am not in the studio I participate and spectate in music, sports, film and the environment. During my time at Arts and Michigan I hope to expose more students to their creative capabilities.Lindsay Bienick
Graphic Designer
I am a junior in the School of Art & Design and am also working towards a minor for Program in the Environment. I love creating art that involves people and nature, and enjoy a wide range of mediums such as graphic design, drawing, painting, and mixed media. Outside the art world I love spending time with friends, being outdoors, listening to music, and chanting “Go Blue!”
I am a senior at the School of Arts and design and I was born and raised in Hong Kong. I am very interested in the arts and I hope to work in the field after I graduate. I love life and bleed Maize and Blue!
I earned my BFA in Studio Art with concentrations in graphic design and sculpture, and my MA in Student Affairs Administration, both from Michigan State University. Although it’s taken some time for my eyes to adjust to all of this maize and blue, I love working with students at Michigan. In my spare time I can usually be found knitting, crafting, running, or reading. I’m also a shopaholic and I absolutely could not live in this world without tea or kitties!
Right now, I'm a student at the School of Art and Design class of 2010 focusing in Graphic Design. I like reading, traveling, cooking, baking, book arts, graphic arts, printmaking and painting. In the future, I hope to be a graphic designer at a marketing or advertising firm and potentially open my own design firm someday. I believe the arts are a successful vehicle of expression which can be applied to any field. I think it is important to have a balance of art and creativity with logic and structure in life. Art can be both.Joe Levickas
Program Specialist
I earned my BFA from University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, and my MFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, both in Painting. I helped coordinate programs and exhibitions at Pratt Institute and The Cooper Union in New York, and at Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild in Pittsburgh. As an artist and an administrator, the arts have been a driving force in my career, and I’m really excited to be working in a position that gives me new opportunities each day to share that passion. I’m a museum lover and have been known to travel hours on a bus just to visit one I’ve never seen. I love going to cultural events and seeing offbeat film and theatre productions. I have a peculiar passion for music from 1994, a not–so–peculiar passion for French food and all types of cheese. And I’m a serious New York Yankees fan.
Deb Mexicotte
Assistant Director, ONSP
Director, Arts at Michigan
I have been with the University off and on since 1997, and have been a variety of things within the Division of Student Affairs. These include being Facilities Coordinator at the Student theatre Arts Complex, Director of Michigan Union Arts and Programs, Coordinator for the 2001 Dance for Mother Earth−Ann Arbor Pow Wow, and Manager for the Office of Student Activities and Leadership. I got my undergraduate B.F.A. in Theatre at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and my M.A. in Scene and Costume Design at the University of Michigan. I worked as a Scenic Painter for several years, both locally and at such far-flown locales as the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, before the onset of parenthood brought me back home to look for more “stable” employment. I have three children — Olivia, Fletcher, and Elinor — and have been active in public education advocacy — both for special needs students and, more globally, as a current member of the Ann Arbor Board of Education (complaints and kudos always welcome!). I look forward to this new position at Arts at Michigan (on the Academic Affairs side of things) with great enthusiasm. What could be better than working with this great staff (pictured here on this page!) around the integration of undergraduate learning through the arts! I’ll tell you what — nothing!
Hamidah Rahman
Program Assistant
I am a sophomore studying Mathematics at College of LSA in the University of Michigan. I hail from Malaysia, my birth place — my home. Yes, I have never been to the States before attending U of M thus I aim to visit all 50 states before I graduate (I love traveling!). I believe that there are so many things in life that one can do, and the best way to learn something is to experience it. Here at the U of M, I find that opportunity opens with various sorts of events and programs happening on campus. And it is my pleasure to be involved in planning these events — it might be your first art exhibition, your weekly musical, or the first time for you to learn beading. I usually keep my time occupied with various activities including volunteering, cooking and watching Disney Channel.
Ariela Steif
Webmaster
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, I am a die–hard Steelers fan, and also enjoy watching the West Wing and listening to Green Day and Tom Waits. I’m a senior majoring in art history, and am also an artist, working in an obscure and slightly esoteric medium called encaustic — paint made of molten wax.
Anh Tran
Program Assistant
I am a junior studying Psychology and Spanish. I am from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and I love traveling and learning about new cultures. I only have a few countries that I have crossed off my checklist: Vietnam, Thailand and Mexico, however I hope to be able to cross Spain off my list as I study abroad my senior year. This is my second year at the Arts at Michigan and I mostly work with the [art]seen and arts, ink programs. I really enjoying drawing and painting, particularly people. On a nice sunny day, you can find me on the Diag drawing passerbys. Outside of drawing and my Arts job, is perhaps my most profound hobby: ballroom dancing. My favorite dances are the foxtrot and rhumba. I am also involved in the Vietnamese Student Association, and I really enjoy learning about my culture.
When I was about eleven or twelve I was introduced to the internet, and over the last eight or so years I've taught myself HTML and how to build web sites. Now I'm a third year (senior) LSA student studying English with hopes of pursuing a career in the field of visual communications. I like reading, photography, riding leisurely on my bicycle, tea, and playing Boggle. In eighth grade I was voted "Most Likely to Be a Future Computer Genius."