Senior Francis Poon transferred to Gallatin from NYU’s College of Arts and Science, and the thread that connects the courses he’s taken is the idea of visual literacy: how is a message represented and communicated through the visual? How do viewers learn to “read” an image? “I’m interested in the role of the visual in shaping identity,” says Poon, “and influencing how people look at each other.”
Poon serves as editor at large of the Washington Square News, NYU’s newspaper, assisting with the relaunch of the paper’s Web site. As a tutor with America Reads, a program through NYU’s Office of Civic Engagement and the Steinhardt School, Poon was assigned last year to assist an art teacher serving the third grade. “Nothing makes me happier,” he says, “than a student reaching a magical aha moment.” Poon also worked with Professor June Foley, director of the Writing Program at Gallatin, on an internship as a writing tutor for Chinese students at the High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies.
Gallatin’s interdisciplinary approach, he says, has “propelled me to be more creative, to challenge existing frameworks and to create new connections. As a result, I am not only a more curious student but a more involved and engaged global citizen.” Whatever he does after graduation, says Poon, “giving back will be part of my next chapter.”
