It was challenging to come up with ideas for something so out of the ordinary…. It really got me thinking of how our problem-solving skills that we develop through art can apply to many other fields of study. And that was the most awe-inspiring moment… .
Foundations Student
from ‘Understanding the Visual’ course, blog post
The process of making my ‘Compassion‘ video opened me up to others who are in my life but whom I have never really tried to make a connection to. I made it for myself as well as for the people who share the same upbringing as me.
Trenice Ferguson ’14 (Drawing)
Fine Arts Elective – Compassion
One of the most valuable parts of ‘The Compassion Project’ has been the opportunity to listen to many different women as they explain their stories regarding breast cancer…. This knowledge and empathy will ultimately allow me to have a unique perspective on the women’s health journey and permit me to create impactful solutions for all areas in the journey that need improvement.
Sean Simmons ’13 (Industrial Design)
Senior Design Studio
These are just some of the student reflections on the yearlong collaboration between MIAD and GE Healthcare called “The Compassion Project: Navigating the significant issues of cancer awareness, prevention, and discovery by finding new and meaningful experiences for all women.”
Some 250 students each semester, across 14 courses, have created a dynamic community of inquiry that engages them to think differently about themselves and their work, broaden their understanding of how their talents enter into the women’s healthcare inquiry and fully embrace empathy as the heart of all meaningful personal and professional endeavors.
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s Bob Schwartz, FIDSA, general manager of global design & user experience at GE Healthcare, told students at February’s Professional Development Symposium, “The Compassion Project is about the ‘why,’ not the ‘how’ of your learning. It’s a leveler – something that cuts across all disciplines and majors in the college. It’s about the human condition.”
Integral to the community of inquiry is a living “Learning Wall” initially created and maintained by lead Industrial Design students for community research, awareness, problem solving and making. Accessible by all classes and working groups to exhibit process work, critiques, discussions, writings and design thinking activities, it is also a place for the public to add input.
In addition to the spring semester’s curricular activities, MIAD’s annual Service Learning
Symposium on March 29 featured Carrie Fitzgerald, senior director of health policy for the First Focus healthcare initiative in Washington, 
D.C. And on April 24, MIAD Define – MIAD’s day of campus-wide open exchange – focused on the theme of “Compassion.”
Join the conversation on tumblr.
View posters from the Fall 2012 Art Direction class’ public service announcements.
Watch the Fall 2012 Art Direction class’ RemindHer video.
Watch Trenice Ferguson’s Compassion video.
View inspiration boards on Pinterest.
Follow The Compassion Project on Facebook.
View a slideshow of the Learning Wall.
Read a summary of the Compassion Project and the breadth of the student participation.
First image: Sean Simmons ’13 (Industrial Design)
Second image: Detail of Mario Hixon’s (’13 Communication Design) Compassion Project public service announcement poster, Fall 2012 Art Direction
