{"id":70739,"date":"2025-12-04T08:32:33","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T13:32:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/?p=70739"},"modified":"2025-12-04T15:37:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T20:37:09","slug":"after-35-years-helping-students-launch-careers-this-most-senior-graduate-starts-a-new-life-in-the-arts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/2025\/12\/04\/after-35-years-helping-students-launch-careers-this-most-senior-graduate-starts-a-new-life-in-the-arts\/","title":{"rendered":"After 35 Years Helping Students Launch Careers, This Most Senior Graduate Starts a New Life in the Arts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even before he retired from his job in the Career Center, Jim Novak started taking art classes. Benefitting from the tuition assistance that UNC Charlotte offers faculty and staff, Novak enrolled in his first Department of Art &amp; Art History course in the spring of 2020, taking one course per semester until January 2023, when he ended a 35-year career in career services and began his new life as an artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At 69, Novak is the most senior of this semester\u2019s graduating seniors. He will earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art with a concentration in painting on December 12. The following month, he will begin a job teaching adult art classes at Holt School of Fine Arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Novak had talent and interest in art as a child, but \u201cwasn\u2019t a very disciplined student,\u201d he said. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and while neither of his parents had graduated from high school, they \u201cwere aspirational for their children\u201d and encouraged them to go to college. Novak applied to the prestigious Cleveland Institute of Art, but was not accepted. Instead, he attended Cleveland State University and majored in history and social studies. Soon he was working at his alma mater in the career center, forging the path that would ultimately bring him to UNC Charlotte in 2011 to become associate director of career services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Novak loved the job and witnessing \u201cthe tremendous growth\u201d of the university and the Career Center, he said. He is passionate about internships and career development programs for students. But even through that success and satisfaction, his artistic potential prodded him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI really wanted to get an art education, to see how I would compete with my fellow students and get faculty feedback.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>At first the other art students didn\u2019t know what to make of him.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At first the other art students didn\u2019t know what to make of him, he said. \u201cThe first week in illustration class, no one would talk to me. One student came up at the end of the week and introduced himself, and that broke the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was during a 2025 study abroad trip to Ireland, though, that Novak finally felt fully integrated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIreland was a beautiful experience. I stayed at Burren College of Art with the students, and that changed everybody\u2019s perspective of me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Novak was one of 11 students on the trip, led by art professors Jane Dalton and Aspen Hochhalter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1536\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/12\/Ireland-group-photo.jpeg\" alt=\"Group photo in Ireland\" class=\"wp-image-70741 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/12\/Ireland-group-photo.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/12\/Ireland-group-photo-600x450.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/12\/Ireland-group-photo-1000x750.jpeg 1000w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/12\/Ireland-group-photo-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/12\/Ireland-group-photo-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/12\/Ireland-group-photo-1400x1050.jpeg 1400w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/12\/Ireland-group-photo-300x225.jpeg 300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 2048px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 2048\/1536;\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jim Novak, far right, with his fellow travelers on the Summer 2025 Department of Art &amp; Art History study abroad trip to Ireland. Photo by Aspen Hochhalter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe were&nbsp;thrilled&nbsp;that Jim joined our pilgrimage to Ireland this past summer,\u201d said Hochhalter. \u201cOver two weeks, living and working closely together, the students quickly formed a&nbsp;tight-knit, supportive community. They cooked, shared meals and explored the village as a group. Jim was an&nbsp;integral and valued part&nbsp;of this wonderful dynamic, and we couldn&#8217;t imagine the trip&#8217;s success without his contribution!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his art, Novak favors realism over abstraction, and he is particularly drawn to portraiture. During the pandemic, when he was preparing his portfolio to be fully admitted into the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree program, he would go once a week to Bad Daddy\u2019s Burger Bar, where he would eat, drink and sketch in isolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the servers there reminded him of the barmaid in Manet\u2019s famous 1882 painting, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/A_Bar_at_the_Folies-Berg%C3%A8re#\/media\/File:%22Un_Bar_aux_Folies-Berg%C3%A8re%22_by_%C3%89douard_Manet_(1882).jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&#8220;Un Bar aux Folies-Berg\u00e8re&#8221;<\/a> (\u201cA Bar at the Folies-Berg\u00e8re\u201d). Five years later, she became the central figure in his final thesis project, \u201cLa folie du telephone portable\u201d (\u201cCell Phone Folly\u201d), a collection of oil paintings that depict various people in another local eatery, Midwood Smokehouse. Cell phone use is prominent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI seek to draw parallels between 19<sup>th<\/sup>-century Paris and 21<sup>st<\/sup>-century Charlotte, as both cities confront the complexities of modernity,\u201d Novak wrote in his artist statement. \u201cMy work invites the viewer to reflect on and ask questions about \u2018modernity\u2019 in our era.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"4016\" height=\"2445\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/12\/Novak_Thesis.jpg\" alt=\"paintings in the gallery\" class=\"wp-image-70767 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/12\/Novak_Thesis.jpg 4016w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/12\/Novak_Thesis-600x365.jpg 600w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/12\/Novak_Thesis-1000x609.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/12\/Novak_Thesis-768x468.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/12\/Novak_Thesis-1536x935.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/12\/Novak_Thesis-2048x1247.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/12\/Novak_Thesis-1400x852.jpg 1400w, https:\/\/cws.charlotte.edu\/backup-coaa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/807\/2025\/12\/Novak_Thesis-300x183.jpg 300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 4016px) 100vw, 4016px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 4016px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 4016\/2445;\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jim Novak&#8217;s final thesis project, \u201cLa folie du telephone portable\u201d (\u201cCell Phone Folly\u201d), in the Rowe Lower Gallery. His own face, obscured by a cell phone, can be found in the large main painting. Photo by Toby Schuetze.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cJim is a great student,\u201d said Associate Professor of Painting Andrew Leventis. \u201cAll the professors have really enjoyed having him in class. His commitment to his studies is a tremendously positive influence on our students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Novak says that the structure and purpose he found in pursuing the art degree allowed him to transition smoothly into retirement. And while he has been struck by \u201chow challenging an art career is,\u201d he is gratified to have both realized his youthful dream and to be starting a new, creative career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u201cIf I had to do it all over, I would have gotten an art degree. I just didn\u2019t know at 17 that I had the brains and talent to do this.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jim Novak, 69, is earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art on December 12.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":455,"featured_media":70765,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_clt_a11y_last_scan":"1778696312","_clt_a11y_has_violations":"0","_clt_a11y_violations":"[]","_clt_a11y_suppressions":"","_clt_a11y_needs_validation":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[51],"class_list":["post-70739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-art-art-history"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>After 35 Years Helping Students Launch Careers, This Most Senior Graduate Starts a New Life in the Arts - 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