This week on Chronversations: Columbia celebrated the end of the academic year with the Manifest Arts Festival, which included an appearance from incoming President and CEO Shantay Bolton. We have exclusive coverage of her visit to the Alumni Lounge at the Student Center on Friday, May 16.
0:08: Welcome to Chronicle Conversations.
0:10: I’m your guest host, Sydney Richardson.
0:15: On Friday, May 16, Columbia celebrated the end of the academic year with the annual Manifest Arts Festival.
0:22: Throughout the day, various student groups and academic programs hosted events in buildings and outdoor spaces all over campus.
0:31: Many students brought non-Columbia family and friends to Manifest to see the campus and engage with activities and performances.
0:40: Incoming President and CEO Shantay Bolton also attended Manifest.
0:44: Bolton addressed the community multiple times throughout the festival, including at the Alumni Lounge event in the Student Center.
0:52: But one of the things he asked me was, “Why did you choose Columbia, given everything that you’ve heard and seen and all the things that sometimes people say negatively, why did you choose us?”
1:01: I told them, “I chose you because I have something in common with you: this unrelenting spirit of to win.
1:07: I believe in creativity and I believe that we have to fight for the making access and giving opportunity to those who may not have it easy in other places, but they nonetheless have brilliance that this world and the people around us can benefit from.”
1:23: I could not have made a better decision. No matter how hard the work is, I will roll my sleeves up and I will be in it with you.
1:31: We are winners. We are not starving artists. We are in a place of abundance. We will have absolute excellence and success in everything that we do, because we are Columbia College Chicago.
1:46: Bolton officially takes office on July 1, but she has visited campus multiple times in the time since she was announced to be the next president.
1:55: Bolton will also attend commencement.
1:57: Columbia will hold two commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 18, at Credit Union One Arena.
2:03: Some graduating seniors and their guests got an early start on the festivities at Manifest.
2:09: Hi, I’m Claire Filipiak. I’m an illustration major at Columbia.
2:13: It’s weird thinking about being out of school, but it’ll be fun, yeah, lots of new opportunities.
2:20: Hi, my name is Mary Wollner. My daughter Claire is an illustration major. She’s graduating this Sunday.
2:27: Oh, it’s a beautiful day. It’s wonderful to see all the artists out here and show their work that they’ve done this semester, this last year.
2:38: Their accomplishments, it’s wonderful.
2:41: I love artists. Now we’re at the student center. They’re gonna show all the posters.
2:46: One of my daughters is hanging outside further down the street, I guess she has grown so much.
2:54: I’m so proud of her. Oh my gosh, so talented, and she’s worked really hard like she always does.
3:03: Make sure to stay up to date with Campus and Metro News at ColumbiaChronicle.com and sign up for our newsletter at ColumbiaChronicle.com/newsletter.
3:14: Congratulations to the class of 2025.
3:17: I’m Sydney Richardson.
3:19: Thanks for listening.
Copy edited by Matt Brady
