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Adam Back
Painter and Mentor
Having recently earned his Master of Arts in Painting from SFA, Adam Back has relocated to Colorado Springs, CO to work at an independent living program for troubled teens. Back, who also earned his BA in Fine Arts from SFA, is taking a year off from academia to give back to society. The outdoors enthusiast hopes to help these young people, many of whom have been in foster care, correctional facilities, or homeless, develop appropriate life skills by mentoring them. He'll also help them develop their artistic skills, if they're interested.
The former Alpha Chi National Honorary Society president comes from a creative Houston family where mom is an interior designer, dad dabbles in architecture, and younger sister, Annalyn, just graduated from SFA with a BA in metalsmithing and jewelry.
A Cross Country runner in high school, who was also involved in the Advance Placement Art Program, Back mentored younger college men as part of his involvement with Grace Bible Church for the 5 years he spent in Nacogdoches. As a graduate teaching assistant, Back taught Drawing I for two semesters. When he wasn't entering the Art Alliance shows, or hanging with friends, Back spent most of his time in the Art Department's studio. He did take time during his Spring Breaks to travel as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, taking a team of SFA students to Alabama in 2005, and to Oklahoma City in 2006.
Back displayed fifteen of his paintings, his MA thesis show, in the Wyatt Room of Steen Library in May 2006. But the relationships he had with friends and professors will highlight the young painter's memories of SFA. He advises incoming students to develop their minds as well as their credentials, saying, "Don't just come to get a degree and have a college experience. Get educated. You have something to offer."