You could call 农夫导航鈥檚 Design, Arts and Technology (DAT) program 鈥渁 secondary major that integrates the fine and applied arts with digital technology.鈥� That鈥檚 how the university catalog describes it. But program director Shawn Apostel鈥檚 description is more fun: It鈥檚 the pathway to a 鈥淐hoose Your Own Adventure鈥� degree. With its multiple electives, 鈥渋t鈥檚 broad and creative, and that鈥檚 what I love about it,鈥� says Dr. Apostel, a former graphic designer, professional artist and photographer who became director of the program in summer 2019. The DAT program, which must be paired with a complementary primary major of Art, Business, Communication, Computer Science, English or Music, builds skills in a variety of areas, including website development, film and video production, sound editing and audio production, multimedia art, graphic design, 2D animation and communications technology. Students do hands-on projects with actual clients and complete a three-hour internship, ideally in their complementary major area of study. The DAT program 鈥済ives you a vehicle to really propel you into your career field. You have a discipline, and the DAT almost electrifies it,鈥� Apostel said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 make pretend. We make things happen.鈥� The program also breaks down academic silos by drawing students from a variety of disciplines, he said. 鈥淭here are some degrees where you live in one building. Our majors are from many buildings.鈥� True to the spirit of the liberal arts, that sparks collaboration and different ways of thinking. 鈥淭he reason that the first Macs had so many fonts was that Steve Jobs took a calligraphy class and fell in love with typography,鈥� he noted. Bellarmine junior John Klapheke said he chose the double major of Communication and DAT because of the opportunities they offered. 鈥淭hey have an immense number of electives. When I saw that, that translated into 鈥榚xperience, experience, experience.鈥� And also just being able to say, 鈥楾his is your college career. Each of those things that say elective? That means you get to do what you want. You get to choose. You form your own destiny.鈥� That was very powerful for me.鈥� The DAT major also helped him land a on the Creator Expert team at LEGO headquarters in Billund, Denmark, in the fall of 2018. He鈥檚 now pursuing interests in web design, video production, photography and filmmaking. Article by Carla Carlton, Director of Executive and Advancement Communications