By: Will Levy 

I attended NuVu in the Winter Trimester of my sophomore year. Now, as a junior, I have the opportunity to educate other Beaver students about my personal experience, as well as the program as a whole. While at NuVu, I had the chance to not only gain experience into the creative process, but was also able to grow as a learner. I truly feel as though my experience at NuVu changed the way I face my Beaver curriculum, and will continue to positively impact my education into college. This includes learning effective problem solving, and understanding that a finished product can have many variations before the end. Through NuVu, I also developed new skills and learned how to use many software applications and resources available to students while on the Beaver campus which I had never used before, such as laser cutting and 3D printing.

NuVu gives students the opportunity to design and create interesting projects including designing electric cars for city driving, making machines which translate sound into visual representations, creating fashion wear, designing interactive sculptures for the Boston Common, as well as many others. The first studio in which I participated entailed designing, building, and coding a video game for a highschooler with both cognitive, as well as physical challenges. The game would not only be enjoyable for the student to play, but also help to develop important life skills, such as hand eye coordination, and mental dexterity. Through the studio, myself along with the other NuVu participants traveled to The English High School in Jamaica Plain and met students in the special education class. This project allowed me to see a direct impact of my work, while positively impacting the life of another person. At the end of the term, my project was selected to be showcased as one creation among six others that were chosen out of more than two hundred fifty. 

Before I decided to attend NuVu, I had a few concerns about the program. What would it be like being off campus? What will I be doing at NuVu and what might be the day-to-day logistics? I soon learned that these were not only my questions, but they were also in the minds of the other students who were about to partake in the program. Even after visiting the studio space a few weeks prior to the start of my term at NuVu, I was still slightly unsure about what I would be doing on a daily basis. I was able to find other students who were alumni of the program, and asked them to clarify my outstanding questions. Personally, I am glad that I was able to look past my initial concerns, and in the end, reap the rewards of my time and effort. 

Although students attending NuVu become disconnected from the Beaver community for a trimester, there are still ways to interact with friends. This includes choosing to participate in an afternoon activity on campus, or finding time on weekends to stay connected. I urge prospective students not to let friendships influence their decision, as relationships will not be lost, and a great learning as well as growth experience will be forfeited if they choose not to attend. Through my own experience, I was able to seamlessly reintegrate back onto campus at the start of the new trimester, and immediately reconnect with my classmates as well as friends. 

If you are thinking about attending NuVu, I highly suggest continuing to find resources, such as former NuVu students or administrators, to clarify any questions you have about the program. Overall, the experience was well worth the time, and I would encourage any students who want to enrich their Beaver experience further to attend NuVu. If you would like to continue getting a deeper understanding of NuVu, please read my past Beaver Reader articles about the “NuVu Experience,” and look for more to be published in the coming months.