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Eric Fox grew up knowing he wanted to fly the friendly skies.
“Who wouldn’t want to be a pilot? I have always wanted to fly for a living,” says Eric. “There was never an eye-opening moment where everything clicked and I woke up wanting to be a pilot. I cannot remember a time when I wanted to do anything else. Once I combined my passion for aviation with a desire to join the military, the United States Air Force was a natural choice.”
Coming from a long line of UNT alumni, inc...
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Noura Shuqair thought she knew most everything about art in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East – after all, she grew up immersed in Saudi Arabia’s capital of Riyadh.
After taking UNT professor Nada Shabout’s art history class, Noura realized she had taken for granted many aspects of her own culture and was inspired to research and write about contemporary art in Saudi Arabia.
“Professor Shabout makes us think critically. An art historian’s job is something most people underesti...mate. You become a detective because you have to search for the facts. You have to learn about the politics of that area, as well as its economy and culture in order to understand the art in the bigger picture,” says Noura, who will earn her Ph.D. in art education this spring.
As an artist, Noura has found joy in a variety of mediums from painting and drawing to mixed media. At UNT, she’s brought more technology into her art, using machines such as the laser cutter or 3D printer at the UNT College of Visual Arts + Design FabLab.
“My work involves the contradiction in my identity. I’m torn between two different worlds – America and Saudi Arabia,” Noura says.
She chose UNT for her doctoral education so she could take studio classes and conduct arts-based research for a creative dissertation.
To say that Noura has enjoyed classes at UNT would be an understatement. On numerous occasions, she’s audited classes, sitting in and observing them for no credit, learning something new each time. After she successfully defended her dissertation, she went straight to one of Shabout’s classes to observe. She’s audited other classes in the art education and art history department as well.
“When I see that my professors are accomplished and how they are so well-known in the world, I feel proud that they are my mentors. I know I’m in good hands,” Noura says.
In the fall, Noura will become a mentor to the next generation, beginning her journey as an assistant professor at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
