WKU News

WKU students Xander Bowen (left) and Madison Whittle received the Gerald Printing Graphic Design Scholarship.

Xander Bowen and Madison Whittle, two Potter College of Arts and Letters students majoring in Graphic Design, were both chosen to receive a $1,000 scholarship from Gerald Printing.

Gerald Printing was created in 1971 by Larry Gerald. Gerald, using his 24 years of experience with newspaper and commercial printing, assisted the citizens of Scottsville, Kentucky, with their printing needs. In 1996, Joe Davis purchased the company and relocated it to Bowling Green in 2000. Later, other locations were established in Elizabethtown, Glasgow, Russellville, and White House, Tennessee. The company also purchased Liberty Imaging in 2015.

Davis and Randy Reece, sales manager at Gerald Printing’s Bowling Green office, visited the Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Center to get a sampling of Xander and Madison’s extensive portfolios. A tour of ImageWest, WKU’s student-run advertising and public relations agency, and Professor Matt Tullis’ graphic design class soon followed. Davis and Reece praised Xander and Madison for their interdisciplinary approaches to graphic design.

This is the first year that Gerald Printing has awarded the Gerald Printing Graphic Design Scholarship to students. With this scholarship, the company hopes to cultivate and fund the talented students within the Graphic Design program. Additionally, the company has a graphic design award that will open for submissions in March.

“It’s exciting to see the great work happening in the Graphic Design program at WKU,” says Davis. “We want to help students be proactive about their experience within the program.”

Xander, a senior from Nashville, Tennessee, originally had other plans when he first joined the Hill. For two and a half years, he was a nursing student. However, he realized that he desired a creative career and became a PCAL student. At first, he experimented with majoring in Drawing and Sculpture, but quickly found his love for Graphic Design with the help of the Department of Art and Design.

Madison, a junior from Bowling Green, always had a love for digital design. In high school, she was very passionate about coding and web design that she ultimately decided to pursue a degree in Graphic Design and a certificate in User Experience (UX). Her time on the Hill has allowed her to discover her love for virtual and augmented reality through her work in the WKU XR Research Lab. Madison also credits her success as a graphic designer to the faculty in the Department of Art and Design.

“Our job is to help students develop their voices,” says Kristina Arnold, department chair for the Department of Art and Design. “Xander and Madison are perfect examples of students making their own way in the program.”

Contact: Jessica Luna, (270) 745-3259 or jessica.luna@wku.edu