Before her graduation from MICA in 2017, exhibiting artist Xiaofu Wang talked about her experience as a graduate student in the LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting.

"I really love Hoffberger School of Painting," she said. "The structure of my program is very effective - one director and 20 students. Each student has enough time to meet with our director, which avoids unhealthy competition between students over mentoring. Our program schedule is pretty intense. We have a group crit every week, and we are encouraged to show new pieces in every crit. That produces an energy to work all the time in studio. To me, that's a very important thing."

She added, "Almost all M.F.A. programs are in Lazarus Studio Center, so we are all very close. It's easier for students to get to know each other, to do a studio visit or crit with another program spontaneously."

When asked what advice she would give to ohter international students considering MICA, Wang answered, "Be humble, but not too much. Be confident, but not too much. Like your limitations as much as your advantages. It's OK to feel isolated. Trust your senses when your English is not ready yet. You will find things that surprise you. This experience is about being an artist, but it's more about being a human."

Currently based in New York City, Wang was a finalist for the 2017 Walter & Sondheim Artscape Prize, and she is a featured artist on the Baltimore LED Art Billboard.