The President's New Shoes

To celebrate President Greg Peterson's first year at SLCC, two student artists collaborated on a project to commemorate everything from his achievements and initiatives to the Bruins' baseball national title and the impact that the College has on the lives of students. The artists, Aubrey Nadauld and Dina Krikova, used jacquard textile paints and posca markers to customize a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars, Peterson's signature footwear, and later gifted the shoes to the president during his inaugural celebration.

"Each shoe reflects the president's milestones, experiences, and achievements from his inaugural year," the artists said in a joint statement, adding that the shoes also "represent the spirit of SLCC."

For the two students, that spirit encompasses the operational side of the College, things like sustainable growth, but it also celebrates the broader impact on — and advocacy for — students' lives and communities. That impact also transcends the boundaries of campus; the shoes depict elements of "the local beauty of Utah's nature," linking the College to the natural landscape that surrounds and helps define those communities.

Since they're the artists, it's little surprise that Nadauld and Krikova are both also represented in the shoes. It's also thematically coherent. Their own experiences — Nadauld is a first-gen student and Summer Bridge program participant and Krikova is a first-gen immigrant — demonstrate how the College fosters a welcoming community for everyone.

Nadauld credits the Summer Bridge program, offices like Accessibility & Disability Services, and inclusivity gestures like the Pride-inspired crosswalks at South City Campus for helping her build connections as a first-gen student. (The sidewalks also inspired the shoes' rainbow tongues.) Krikova echoes that overall sentiment, saying that seeing such a diverse student body and faculty together in a collaborative, welcoming atmosphere "has always made me feel well-accepted and appreciated."

Krikova also designed a personal logo for President Peterson using a stylized version of his initials resting back-to-back as a nod to his status as SLCC's ninth president. "The GP logo idea came to me one night when I realized that our president's initials can also read as '9P,'" or ninth president, she explained, admitting that the "delightful coincidence" was impossible to ignore for someone with a background in graphic design.

Both student artists have ambitions to turn pro, with Krikova planning to leverage her experience and education into a career in graphic design and Nadauld hoping to use her expertise in fine arts and penchant for bright colors as a children's book illustrator. In the meantime, an official Converse x Greg Peterson limited drop may be unlikely, but if the shoe manufacturer does decide to enter the community college arena, then Nadauld and Krikova have proven that they're ready to lead the design process.