Graduating Senior: Paige Campbell

Paige Campbell
Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
B.F.A. Dance, Performance & Choreography, Graduating Spring 2022
Minor in Business Administration, and a Social Media Certificate
 

Paige participated in the Teaching Internship with Factory Street Studio, in Athens. She made time to answer a few questions during finals week. 

What are your next steps or plans for the future? 

Currently, I am not sure what my next steps are. With the School of Dance being so busy this semester with all of our performances and simply readjusting to our regular spring semester, it has been a little chaotic. I am planning on going home to Cleveland for the summer to spend some time letting my body and mind take a break, but also I plan on continuing my dance training where and when I can as well as looking for jobs. 

Would you recommend other students work with the Factory Street Studio teaching internship?

I would absolutely recommend this internship to future dance students because it really gives a better sense of what it's like being a teacher. I was thrown into this internship at an interesting time (Fall 2020) where there was not only a huge learning curve for me learning to become a teacher, but also navigating teaching within a pandemic. The community within the studio is incredible and being there feels like having a second family. 

What was the best part of the FSS internship?

The best part about working with Factory Street would probably have to be getting to see my students grow so much over the past two years. I have some students that were with me on my very first day teaching all the way through now, and it has been the most rewarding experience to be able to see them grow in their dancing but also just as humans. 

What was your ah-ha moment at OHIO—that point where you said to yourself, “I’ve got this!”?

I honestly have to say that my ah-ha moment while I've been at OHIO was right after my mom left after moving me into my dorm freshman year. I knew that coming into a new community was going to be a challenge within itself but knowing how independent I am and how determined I was to make the most out of my time here, I just knew that this was going to be an incredible chapter of my life. I knew that this was the time of my life where I had to take advantage of every opportunity that presented itself to make the most out of my college experience and my education, and I think at this point I can successfully say that's what I did.  

Why did you choose OHIO? 

I mainly chose OHIO because of how I felt the first time that I visited. I absolutely loved the feeling of the traditional college town that OHIO has, but at the same time I simply felt like I was at home. The School of Dance provided so many opportunities to come and take classes and tour the department before coming here, which made the transition so much smoother. I also had a moment when I came for my audition that made me realize how much of a family the dance department is. 

What was the hardest hill you had to climb?

I think the hardest hill that I had to climb was navigating being a dance major online. I know that there were a lot of majors where it was difficult to learn online but dancing at home was a whole different experience. I think I got through it through a level of creativity that I didn't know was in me by really taking advantage of this learning curve and seeing how much I could dive into at home learning and dancing. This gave me a whole new view on dance and education and getting back into person full time showed me how much of a new perspective on dance I gained throughout online learning.  

What are your favorite OHIO memories?

The majority of my favorite memories have been with my best friends, most of them are dance majors. A lot of the best times that I have had have been moments that were completely unplanned but so incredible. 

What’s the one thing you would tell a new OHIO student not to miss? 

Never say “no” to an opportunity. I have learned so much throughout my time here at OHIO, and there is so much I could have missed out on if I might have said “no” to an opportunity. I've met so many incredible people because of this, and truly had the college career of my dreams because I continuously said “yes!”