Syd Yontez
Graduation year: 2025
High school: Highland Park High School
Hometown: Highland Park, Ill.
Majors: Art, philosophy, graphic design
Activities: Socratic Society of 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ (Philosophy Club), Go & Chill Out (Go Club)
Post-grad plans: It was a tough decision (a good sign), but my plan is to do biomedical illustration work at the Texas Medical Center this fall. Then I will attend Syracuse University for a Master of Fine Arts in illustration in 2026. All the time in-between will be dedicated to drawing for fun and traveling around Spain!
Why 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@?
A multidisciplinary approach has always shaped my ideal education. I learn best through relationships with educators, and 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ offers the right environment. Though I planned to attend art school, I realized my personal growth is tied to my work’s success. I chose Augie to explore myself and many fields of thought. And thus, in doing so, nourish my future as an artist.
Are you where you thought you'd be when you first came to campus?
I came to college with a clear sense of what I wanted to study and of how I felt about education. As a creative, I’ve always been drawn to big questions and how best to express ideas. Of course I would learn… but I didn’t expect what it would feel like to earn that learning.
I’ve moved from consuming knowledge to trying to contribute to it. I began in awe of thinkers and makers. Now I’m in conversation with them, with a seat at the table, and asking the questions myself.
Who helped you get to where you are now?
I first thank my family for saving for my education and allowing me the freedom to never worry about money. Shoutout to the friends I’ve made here: while few, none faint of heart. I adore all of you who’ve given me space to try myself out and be weird. Classmates, club mates and academic associates: your perspectives have expanded my own.
I wish I had the words to encapsulate my adoration for the mentors I’ve met here. I owe much of my success to my friends in the philosophy department, Dr. Deke Gould and Dr. Roman Bonzon, and in the arts, Peter Xiao and Kay Roderick. Without you, I wouldn’t possess the courage to feel a worthy part of the world nor the boldness to play in it!
Your wisdom, respect, challenge and willingness to listen has been the greatest gift. What I’ve gained in and out of class (in music sharing, art debates and countless nerdy exchanges) equally so. Thank you dearly for encouraging me to cultivate and claim the power and prowess to love life, grime and all!
Peak experience?
Classes with Dr. Bonzon were more rewarding than I ever could’ve imagined from higher education. In countless vicious back-and-forths with him, I found my love for learning, life and challenge, and the strength to declare and defend what I believe. Too did I discover a respect for the concerns of others.
Discussions on pivotal philosophers, ethics, the nature of art and how to claim oneself have solidified who I am, what I value and my vision for the future. All, with fun at the forefront.
What surprised you?
Learning isn't about settling satisfying answers, but about posing questions and wrestling with them. We crave certainty, but curiosity only arises in the chaos and messiness of the world. It's in the discomfort of the unknown where we grow and love what we don't yet understand.
What will you miss the most?
The community and camaraderie that come from sharing new experiences and first-time big choices. What a joy it is to experience some of the good and bad that life has to offer with people just as clueless as you are. I will forever cherish walking through life for the first time with a hand to hold, and how my time at Augie has made me even more confident that I can walk more independently post-graduation with zeal.
Advice for the Class of 2029?
Get to know your professors. Stop by their office hours and steal their time to discuss anything under and above the sun. Appreciate the fact that we’re all randomly on this dumb rock together and that we have so much to learn from each other, in ways beyond vocation. We're all just here to learn.
"Syd is an original — a student who pursues her own path, seeks her own reasons, finds her own values and thereby creates her own self. In all her courses with me, she has rigorously interrogated the texts, investigated the topics and then fashioned her own understanding of the ideas. Her Senior Essay for the Nietzsche Seminar was a beautiful and profound effort at achieving Nietzsche’s ideal of self-determination. Even for an accomplished artist in drawing, painting and design, it may be that her greatest work of art yet is her own self."