![\"With](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Hu170913a067.jpg\")
<\/a>Caroline McGuire, director of UConn\u2019s Office of Undergraduate Research, who facilitates and oversees the IDEA Grant program at the school, says Hu\u2019s talent and capacity for hard work shone through when she applied for the grant:<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was a good fit for the IDEA Grant program because it requires that students propose a project they have developed themselves, in whatever form that might take. Eva proposed an innovative project to translate calligraphy \u2013 a traditional art form that she describes as closely tied to her Chinese identity \u2013 into three-dimensional sculpture using clay, a material she describes as elemental and grounded,\u201d McGuire says. \u201cIt was clear in her application that she developed and designed this project herself, that she has the necessary skills and motivation to achieve her ambitions for the project, and that engaging in this work would push her artistic practice forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
McGuire notes that Hu\u2019s professors, including her sculpture and ceramic art professor, Monica Bock, also saw significant promise in her and encouraged her to apply for the grant.<\/p>\n
For Hu, the accomplishments she has achieved thus far haven\u2019t come without effort. She recalls that as a freshman, being nearly 8,000 miles from home was not easy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still remember when a UConn police officer had to help me get to my dorm,\u201d she says. \u201cStarting to figure out classes and making new friends, at first, sometimes I would stress out about school, so I\u2019d take a walk or just spend time talking to my friends. After some time, I started to get used to it and find my own pace. It’s not easy to deal with all things at the same time, trying to manage your time is important.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hu also would see her friends leaving for the weekend and start to miss her parents and family. But, after developing a solid group of friends and focusing on her goals, she knew she was at the right place, in the UConn community:<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes,” she says, “when I saw parents picking up their kids from school, there would be a moment where I hoped my parents could be here picking me up too. But you have to stay strong, because I know they are missing me every day, so you need to do everything you\u2019ve got to do to make them proud.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, as she enters her senior\u00a0year at UConn, Hu is thriving. She sees the IDEA Grant as the culmination of the hard work and comfort level she\u2019s achieved.\u00a0She appreciates finally being at a place of peace and stability in her life, knowing she\u2019s currently learning the skills that will shape her career, hopefully as a studio artist.<\/p>\n
And she values the fact that she has learned those skills in her home away from home:\u00a0\u201cI love UConn because it was where I started to learn more about myself and had the teachers who have guided me and carried me,\u201d she says. \u201cBecause of these people, UConn is not just a school for me, but a home to me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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