ARMED WITH EXPERIENCE

Rose Bogue draws on past to prepare for bright future

Rose Bogue has tried to gain as much experience in as many things as possible in their time at East Carolina University.

They hold three jobs on campus: serving as the first creative director for the Creative Quarters at Pirate Media 1; as program assistant in the Women and Gender Office; and as center assistant in the Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center, where they recently completed the design work for the True Colors photography exhibit. They also have been editor of ECU’s student-led Expressions minority magazine and Rebel, the art and literary magazine.

“My biggest thing over the past five years is setting myself up for as many options as possible,” they said. “I’ve probably taken more unnecessary electives than anyone else here. I feel like I’ve lived five lives just within my time here.”

Armed with that experience, Bogue will graduate this month with a bachelor’s degree in art with a concentration in illustration. They are looking at opportunities in graphic design or event planning and hope to stay in Greenville, where they moved from Arizona to live with their mom their senior year of high school, graduating in 2017 from D.H. Conley.

“I’m so thankful I’ve been able to find my true passion over the past few years,” Bogue said. “I’ve always liked art. One thing I’ve realized is it is a learned skill.”

Bogue also loves video games, which led them to illustration with a focus on background design — environmental art seen in the background of animation or video games. They primarily work in 2D art. “It’s a lot of environments, a lot of rooms, just trying to bring character into spaces without drawing figures.”

They have been able to work in different mediums in the School of Art and Design. “One thing that’s great about art school is that it encourages you to try lots of things,” Bogue said. “I work primarily in Adobe Illustrator, but I’ve been lucky enough to try out printmaking and film and textiles, just everything. I also do a ton of graphic design work, most of it outside of class.”

At ECU, Bogue received the LGBT Samantha Hamilton Award for Excellence, the CREED award and was a finalist in the first Captain of the Ship competition — an impactful moment in ECU’s decision to forgo a traditional homecoming queen and king, they said.

Bogue credits faculty member Dr. Cheryl Dudasik-Wiggs with suggesting they get involved with a campus play, “The Vagina Monologues,” that helped change the direction of their life early on at ECU.

“That one suggestion is what introduced me to Mark Rasdorf and sent me down the path of working there and meeting Ashley (Harzog Cleland) and working in the Women and Gender Office,” Bogue said.

While at the WGO, Bogue founded GEM (Gender Expansive Meetup), a group for people with gender-expansive identities such as nonbinary, genderfluid, genderqueer, agender and gender nonconforming. The group discusses gender-fluid subjects and explores what it’s like to live in a gender-coded world. They wanted to solidify that the WGO is a place for everyone.

“We have a thriving LGBTQ community here, but to me it’s important to have a place to speak about gender outside of sexuality,” Bogue said.

Bogue didn’t hesitate when asked about the best life lesson they learned at ECU. “Have conviction. If you’re going to say something, say it with your full chest,” they said. “Have conviction not only with your words but with your efforts. No matter your interest, I guarantee there’s something here for you that you can be engaged with.”

Getting experience with as many things as possible — from graphic design to event planning and founding an organization — helped Bogue find their passion at ECU. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)

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