Posse Alumni Complete American University MFAs
Two Posse alumni, Kubarikiwa Rudd (Pepperdine University) and Shiloah Coley (University of Wisconsin-Madison), have graduated with master’s degrees in fine arts in the same graduate class at American University. Last spring, the pair debuted work in a shared thesis exhibition, “in position.”
“I really appreciate how Posse builds traditions—so that two people from two different Posses can feel connected even before knowing each other.”
With a five-year age gap between them and having come from different cities (Kubarikiwa from D.C. and Shiloah from Chicago), the duo says neither anticipated forming such a deep connection. The pair first met independent of the Posse network when Shiloah reached out to her new graduate school cohort to seek moving help from Bethesda to an on-campus studio, and Kubarikiwa offered a hand. As they drove to campus, the two peers felt an immediate kinship—only later did they uncover shared Posse roots.
“We became sources of rigor for one another,” Shiloah says of the connectivity, adding it was extra meaningful within the competitive American MFA program, which admits cohorts of fewer than 10 students a year. “Developing a strong friendship helped in pushing each other artistically and academically.”
Born and raised in D.C., Kubarikiwa says she initially uncovered a passion for photography in 10th grade as a welcome distraction from her teenage experiences of housing insecurity.
“I found a safe space within creativity,” she recalls, adding when she got the Posse call, her acceptance to Pepperdine created a propulsive force forward. “Posse put me on a path.”
After graduating from Pepperdine, Kubarikiwa joined Teach for America to work on an elementary school level. She aimed to be a positive influence for students, like past educators had been for her.
“Utilizing art is what helped me find my footing as an educator,” Kubarikiwa says. Next, she set a new goal—to teach art at the collegiate level—and was accepted into the MFA program at American.
“Developing a strong friendship helped in pushing each other artistically and academically.”
As a high school student in Chicago, Shiloah first found refuge in the arts after an injury derailed her athletic pursuits in swimming. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she discovered an interest in combining community work with creative expression. She says the Posse program allowed her to feel nurtured and supported enough to advocate for herself on campus.
“I really appreciate how Posse builds traditions, so that two people from two different Posses from two different points in time can feel connected even before knowing each other,” Shiloah says of her unique experience with Kubarikiwa. “That is really powerful.”
This fall, the new master’s degree recipients will embark on separate professional paths. Kubarikiwa is set to teach digital photography at Maryland’s Bouie State University. Shiloah plans to pursue her own independent work, and will complete a fellowship with the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.
