From Performing Arts to Liberal Arts

By Alyssa Maine

Wenham, MA— Dancer. Actor. Musician. At a performing arts school is the student just their performance or are they more than their art? When Matt Slipp decided to come to Gordon after three semesters at Juilliard he was searching to be considered something more than just his ability to sing opera.

Slipp, freshman Music and Psychology Major from Gorham, Maine spent a year and a half in New York only to realize that he desired to be more than just a voice. At Juilliard the mindset is to become nothing else, just a product and performer.

The philosophy for learning is drastically different at Gordon College. The mission is “to graduate men and women distinguished by intellectual maturity and Christian character, committed to lives of service and prepared for leadership worldwide.” The liberal arts education promises more than just a craft, rather a holistic and integrated view of oneself.

“I am not just a musician. I am a musician as well as a Christian,” Slipp said. “I am a whole human being and I get to experience that here at Gordon.”

Slipp has been blessed to have already made close friends since one of his best friends from Gorham goes to Gordon as well. The workload is greater, but Slipp is learning from his new education.