San Antonio’s newest college is accepting applications for its first classes in July. It’s a school that caters to creative artists like fashion designers, chefs and photographers.
A former Frost Bank office off I-10 and Wurzbach in northwest San Antonio has been turned into San Antonio’s newest setting for higher education. The new Art Institute of San Antonio is open for business now, interviewing students for its first session this summer. Even the setting is artistic.
“By and large, if you were to stop a student in the hallway, they’d tell you that the experience is challenging,” said Josh Pond, president of the Art Institute of San Antonio. “While it’s fun, it’s not necessarily easy. You’ll see the same late nights. You’ll still see the same deadline orientation.”
A love of animation and video games is what led Wagner High School graduate Raquel Gonzalez to the Art Institute for a bachelor’s degree. She’s been commuting to the Austin campus and says she’s thrilled to be able to pursue her degree in San Antonio.
“Oh my God, I was like ‘yes!’ So I was super excited so I won’t have to drive like an hour and a half just to get to school,” Gonzalez commented.
Madison High School graduate Mark Gomand said the school offers the specifics he needs to pursue his career in the movie and games industry. “In the Art Institute, I actually get in and I get to touch what I want to work with,” he explained. “I get to mess with the computers, create what I want to create.”
Two industrial kitchens feed the needs of the culinary students, who will eventually work in a restaurant on the ground floor of the school. The idea is that graduates here will be able to walk out with a degree and find a commercial job immediately.
“It’s really a good opportunity for the students ultimately to graduate from a program that has specific skills that are going to be applicable in the market,” Pond said.
The Art Institutes have 47 campuses in the U.S. and Canada. It’s a system that’s graduated more than 200,000 students and is looking to sign up creative people in the Alamo City. Degrees include culinary arts and management, fashion, graphic design, interior design, media arts and animation, photography and web design.
