Creating the Buzz: The Schola Student Group’s Viral First Year

The Center for Arts & Minds’ new student interns enjoyed exclusive backstage access and notable Instagram success, with one standout post garnering more than 600,000 views.

On Fairfield University’s campus, there is a dedicated group of student interns working tirelessly to cover events on social media, support program coordination, and provide insight into how undergraduates view the University’s cultural programming.

They are the Center for Arts & Minds’ Schola, and you can follow along on Instagram as they document their work at @fairfieldartsandminds. This May, they finished up their first year.

Sophomore Peter Pond ’28 served as one of the Schola’s inaugural members. A business and philosophy double major, he did not initially find himself walking through the doors of the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts too often. “The people I’ve met through the Schola, whether they be famous film makers, Broadway performers, or campus photographers and bandmates— I am [filled] with confidence and curiosity,” said Pond.

With other members of the Schola team, Pond interviewed 17-time Emmy award winning documentarian Ken Burns during his appearance on campus for the Philip I. Eliasoph Open VISIONS Forum conversation on February 3, 2026.

While participating in Schola, Pond expanded into the University’s vibrant music scene, later forming his own band and recording tracks on campus.

Through the Center for Arts & Minds, the Schola provides student interns and work studies with real-world opportunities to develop as creative professionals. Working alongside the staff of the Center and the Quick Center, students gain hands-on experience in production, promotion, and digital storytelling.

In turn, they bring their insight into social media and emerging communication trends to help connect Fairfield’s arts and cultural programming with a wider audience.

The group’s name, “The Schola,” comes from the Latin for “school” and the Greek for “leisure,” suggesting a balance between action and reflection. Rooted in the Jesuit tradition, it reflects a period of formation—training not only for a career but for a fuller way of seeing.

The objective of the Schola team is to document every element of the Arts & Minds experience at Fairfield, which includes Quick Center events, but also integrates the Fairfield University Art Museum, the Bennett Center for Judaic Studies, the Waide Center for Applied Ethics, the Center for Catholic Studies, and many other academic centers, programs, and areas of campus life.

On March 25, 2026, renowned neurodiversity advocate, academic, and ethologist Temple Grandin, PhD, appeared at Fairfield University for the School of Education and Human Development’s Diversity Lecture Series. Prior to her sold-out lecture, Dr. Grandin was interviewed by Schola member and undergraduate business student Karen Tang ’28. Throughout their conversation, they discussed how to diagnose early-stage autism, as well as Dr. Grandin’s animal welfare work.

“Being able to interview Temple Grandin was an immense privilege,” said Tang. “Dr. Grandin’s groundbreaking research and her articulate way of discussing her experiences really helped me understand the incredible human brain. It meant a lot as someone who is also neurodivergent.”

Later, after Tang’s interview was edited and posted to Instagram, the conversation began to gain serious traction online. What started out as a rapid one-day rise to 250,000 views turned into a global conversation on early intervention for individuals on the Autism spectrum. To date, Tang’s post has 600,000 total views and 350 comments.

With all these achievements, the Schola team is far from resting on their laurels. Next year, Fairfield University’s Center for Arts & Minds, alongside its constituent centers, is ready for countless lectures, concerts, and dance performances. Through the Schola, students are now at the center of the arts and cultural space on campus.

Follow The Schola and their creative journey through the Center for Arts & Minds.

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