Deborah Belintani Rosa plopped down in front of the Pantheon and started to draw. The former Roman temple served as a backdrop for Ms. Rosa鈥檚 sketch as she documented the moment over spring break.
It was her first visit to Rome and the opportunity came thanks to a class she enrolled in to study Baroque art abroad with Marie Gasper-Hulvat, Ph.D. Growing up in S茫o Paulo, Brazil, Ms. Rosa always dreamed of traveling to Italy鈥檚 capital.
Now, she was there, capturing the ancient city through her contemporary lens.
A theater production major at 黑料网 at Stark, Ms. Rosa鈥檚 studies brought her to the United States, where she lives with her father, Sergio, a Goodyear employee.
鈥淚t is a great opportunity to study in America,鈥 the 18-year-old says.
A recipient of the 2018 Run the World Scholarship and student worker in the Office of Global Education Initiatives, she came to the United States 鈥渢o know about the culture and have more knowledge.鈥
鈥淭he situation in Brazil is hard,鈥 Ms. Rosa explains. 鈥淢oney that should be helping the poor or going toward schools is not.鈥
Her hometown鈥檚 streets often served as a harsh divide.
鈥淭here was a very fancy side and a very poor side,鈥 says Ms. Rosa, who, even as a young girl, saw the inequity that spanned her neighborhood. 鈥淚 wanted to make a difference.鈥
She naturally gravitated toward the stage. There, she found, everyday problems are solved.
鈥淲e can see the positive change that takes place when people are transformed by what is happening,鈥 says Ms. Rosa, who witnessed that firsthand during Kent State Stark鈥檚 spring production of 鈥26 Pebbles,鈥 a docudrama recounting the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
As she directed the stage lights toward the actors, illumination resonated in more ways than one.
鈥凄颈谤别肠迟辞谤 Brian Newberg shared with us how one audience member changed his mind about guns after seeing this play,鈥 Ms. Rosa says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the thing that I love about the theater.鈥
The sophomore says she is determined to make her mark on the world, be it in Canton, S茫o Paulo or Rome, through the transformative power of the stage.