After a broken ankle left third-year graphic design major Julie Brooks sidelined for weeks, she found herself using what was at hand to channel her creativity: a pair of socks. Brooks shaped the sock from her broken foot into a quirky puppet – an invention that seamlessly combined her design skills with playful imagination.

“I wanted to memorialize my injury in some way,” Brooks said. “I made a sock dog, and I even gave him a little boot like me.”

Brooks’ sock puppet is a symbol of how creativity can thrive across disciplines. Whether through digital media, performance art or problem-solving, every student can tap into their creativity and express themselves both inside and outside of the classroom.

David Russell, a second-year marketing major, is a prime example of using creativity outside of the classroom. While his classes typically focus on data, analytics and strategic thinking, Russell has turned to music production as a creative outlet.

“I didn’t think [music] was something I would be interested in,” Russell said. “It doesn’t have anything to do with my major, but I think making beats and music production challenges your creativity to make different sounds with different instruments and mixing them all together to create a sound and make it sound good.”

Creativity can also be used in the classroom as students use their skills to achieve goals and complete their work. Dylan Jones, a second-year fashion merchandising major, attests to using creative expression in his classes.

“Creativity takes place in how I format my completion of assignments, delegate group work if I take an approach of leadership, as well as how I present assignments based on assigned rules of presentation,” Jones said.

Jones wears many hats in the creative field, dabbling in photography and videography, poetry and spoken word, graphic design and the direction and design of his clothing brand. He has been able to use these different forms of art to express himself, sharing his love for storytelling.

“These mediums of creativity help me to convey stories in different ways, and the great thing about each of them is that they can be blended in with each other,” Jones said. “I can recite my poetry over a video that I filmed, or I can take photos of someone wearing some clothing pieces that I designed.”

Brooks not only has created designs from her injury but has also gotten into designing nails outside of class to stay creative. She suggests for students to find the type of art that inspires them outside of the classroom.

“Doing those crafts that you love to do helps with [maintaining creative energy],” Brooks said. “Just painting something, doing a craft or photoshoot with friends, or doing something outside of what you’re doing in your assignments really helps.”