Student Profile: Walker Orner
Perhaps one of the most valuable aspects of the Chatham experience is the community. In such unprecedented times, I (Abigail Kneuss ‘23), have become increasingly grateful for this community and its members. In an effort to showcase just a few of these great people, I’ll be doing a series of student interviews in the coming weeks. These highlights are for students, about students, and by students. This week features Walker Orner ‘21.
Walker is an all-around creative in his last semester here at Chatham. He has spent his time doing design and videography, working in the Art and Design Center (ADC), and unicycling. Learn more about Walker and his plans for the future below!
Walker Orner ‘21
Pronouns: he/him/his
Major: Media Arts with a concentration in Graphic Design and Video & Digital Technology
Hometown: Brookeville, PA
Q: Why did you pick Chatham four years ago?
A: I got a good scholarship, so it was both a financial and locational decision. I really like Pittsburgh, I grew up in a small town so this was a big city to me when I first looked at Chatham. I thought that the campus was cool as well. I started in the film program and I really liked everyone I talked to when I was visiting, they were very welcoming, and it was just exciting.
Q: What have you been involved with during your time here?
A: I’ve done a bit with Chatham Student Power. I also work in the ADC as an assistant doing photography and videography for them. The ADC likes to profile students and their art so I’ve been featuring a lot of seniors lately. We also cover all of the gallery openings, so we just made a video about the new show in the gallery. I was also a bike mechanic for BikeWorks for awhile. I also studied abroad last spring.
Q: Can you tell me more about your study abroad experience?
A: I was in France from February until the middle of June. I was actually the only Chatham student that stayed abroad after the quarantine started. I went to study French and take a bit of an academic break and travel around. It was cut short so I couldn’t do all of the traveling I wanted to, but I lived with this retired French man who spoke French with me every day so my French did get really good. It wasn’t the experience I thought I was going to have, but it was very positive and I’m glad I did it and I would do it again.
Q: Outside of your art studies, what do you enjoy doing?
A: I like skateboarding and unicycling. I bike a lot in general because it is my main form of transportation, but I also really enjoy it. I also enjoy reading books and watching movies.
Q: Favorite medium of art to work with or artist?
A: I really like pen and ink drawing, I did a lot of that last semester. I also would have to pick film and photography. I’m a huge fan of Walker Evans, he’s a street photographer from the thirties that I love, he has definitely influenced my photography. A graphic artist who has influenced my graphic work is Shepard Fairey.
Q: How has COVID affected your creative process?
A: I have trouble doing art when I’m not in a good headspace, I’m not productive at all. But it has allowed me to spend a lot more time looking at other artists I like and doing research. It’s something I wouldn’t be doing so much if I wasn’t on my computer as much as I am now. It’s a good source of inspiration.
Q: Plans after your upcoming graduation?
A: At the moment I’m looking for a remote job to do design work or illustration. Ideally, I would like to stay in Pittsburgh. I really like the city and I’m excited to move off-campus and get my own place. I would love to travel in the future as well, but right now I want to get some consistency and stick around for a while.
Q: Any reflections as you come to the end of your time at Chatham?
A: I think that new students should really use college to try new things. I came in as a film major, and I am still a film major, but I added in the concentration of graphic design after trying a class in it. I had never done it before, but it made me realize how much I enjoy it. Chatham is a great place to try different classes as a liberal arts school. Don’t be stuck in what your major is, if you think you know what you want to do, you probably don’t, so give yourself some room to explore. I also tell everyone to take Mark Bender’s classes. He’s such a skilled professional and is the reason I decided to go into graphic design.
Know a student that should be featured or would like to be featured yourself? Email us or shoot us a DM! We’re happy to hear your suggestions.