The campus Art Gallery hosted an opening reception on Thursday for “Coda,” a photo exhibit that celebrates the work of two retiring professors.
This event featured pieces from photography Professors Jim West and Patty Felkner as well as pieces from their former students.
West said he is so proud of his students as they become professional photographers and make a living out of it.
West taught at CRC for 36 years, taking students on field trips to Japan, Italy, France and Yosemite.
For this event, West showcased his photography series “The Yosemite Experience: A Journey of Wonder and Inspiration.”
“I did Yosemite for this show because I’ve taken all my students to Yosemite,” West said.
For many students, it was their first trip to Yosemite because many students never had the opportunity to go due to family limitations.
“So we took them for the first time, and their eyes were just so big, and they were like, ‘Wow!’” West said. “So I love that I was able to bring them that and give them the opportunity to see something.”
Felkner’s photography pieces that were displayed were called “Tell Me Something About Yourself.”
For this project, she scanned around 5,000 headshots of her students from the past 31 years of teaching, as well as asking her students on the first day of class, “Tell me something about yourself.”
Felkner said she would ask that question because she was bad at remembering names and needed a way to remember students.
“I would try to remember, like, okay, this girl’s into gymnastics,” Felkner said. “Then I would look at her face, and I would say, okay she’s a gymnast and I would remember her name.”
Felkner said she would then make up a nickname like ‘Gemma the gymnast’ so that she would remember their name and quiz herself.
Felkner initially considered throwing away her students’ photos, but she didn’t want to lose those memories of her students.
To preserve them, she applied for a type B sabbatical, which allowed her to step back from part of her teaching duties and focus on a project.
During the sabbatical she took the time to scan all her students’ pictures, creating her photography series “Tell Me Something About Yourself” which reflects her experiences as an educator.
Felkner said she had so much fun at the event, even though she was nervous, she felt so honored and special.
During the event, West and Felkner were surrounded by current students, former students and staff who came to celebrate their retirement.
“The best part was that a former student who really got inspired to become a great photographer thought so much to bring me such a beautiful gift,” Felkner said.
While Felkner and West were excited to reconnect with students, the excitement was mutual as students came to celebrate.
Jeremy Panglilian, a former student who is now a professional celebrity photographer from Los Angeles, said that West and Felkner played an important role in his success.
“Jim and Patty are the only reason I would have the career I have,” Panglilian said.
Panglilian said his job as a commercial photographer is to shoot with influential people like Vince Staples, Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake.
The impact West and Felkner had on their students was evident as many of their former students shared that they went on to become professional photographers.
“It is extraordinarily difficult in this world to find your tribe, to find your purpose and to find mentors,” Pangilinan said. “In my opinion, in my life, in my world, Jim and Patty were my cheat code.”