04/27/2021
Winona State University Outstanding Student in Design for 2021! 👏
This May, the Class of 2021 will be graduating, and we would like to recognize the Outstanding Student in Design—Nicholas Kopp.
Mr. Kopp, originally from Waukesha, Wisconsin, grew up with a passion for drawing and art-making, with a specific interest in graphic novels. Today Nicholas is an exemplary creative individual, a true team player, compassionate and inspiring designer. These are the attributes we hope our students will possess and demonstrate during their time in the WSU Design Program, especially in I–Design major, and upon graduation.
He started his education in Nursing back in the Fall of 2016. His, some would say bumpy road, lead him from Nursing to Elementary Education, quickly navigating towards Secondary Natural Science Education and to Biology. Through this process of self-exploration and discovery, Nicholas found a true passion for design making and his ultimate decision to switch his major for the final time in his academic career. He was fortunate to create a very specialized, hybrid education for himself unifying his different interests in wayfinding, typography, technology, and hands-on creative making through his journey. Mr. Kopp embodies the program’s ideals through experimentation, hybrid collaboration, and the continuous evolution of skills and knowledge. He has been a resource to fellow students, continuously supported by his mentors, while fostering interest in major critical topics in design and visual communication.
Nicholas has supported his classmates while being a Design Lab Assistant for almost two years. He has supported the Art & Design Department and the Gallery programming as a Paul Watkins Gallery Design Intern for three full semesters, instead of just the regular two. Mr. Kopp’s passion for signs and wayfinding led him to take a full-time internship in his Junior year with FormGraphics company in Winona. Later, he was able to hone his UI interest with Trinity in Rochester, MN.
As proof of Mr. Kopp’s excellence during his academic journey, he has won many awards, the highest of which are AdFed MN Gold Pin for animation/special effects in the student section and a Silver ADDY Award. At the 10th Annual Minnesota State Conference of Undergraduate Scholarly and Creative Activity, Nicholas won the Artistic Design Award for his scholarly presentation “Protect & Preserve.” His scholarly work will be published in Special Issue No. 2 of the Saint Cloud University Journal of Student Scholarship (SCSU JOSS). We are all very proud of Mr. Kopp’s many achievements and the profound impact he is leaving on the Design Program at WSU.
Mr. Kopp is the type of honorable, trustworthy teammate that the creative industry needs as well as the contemporary world. He has spent his college academic life pursuing excellence and developing an impressive career path. This June, he will be moving to Rochester, MN, to start his professional life. Design Program, I–Design major, and the Art & Design Department as a whole, is proud of his many strengths and talents and wishes him much success in the future. Mr. Kopp is a true ambassador of the Design Program at Winona State.
