“I realized that you could work in a museum, and I always loved going to museums,” the art history and visual culture senior said.

Ling recently gave a presentation at the 2011 Art History and Visual Culture Undergraduate Symposium, which began at 2:30 p.m. Friday in the Kresge Art Center. During the event, which was held to recognize the achievement of undergraduate students studying art history and visual culture, Ling was required to give a 15 minute presentation about a topic of her choice.

“She did a fabulous job,” said Phylis Floyd, a member of the symposium’s judging panel and Ling’s adviser. “From the perspective of trying to both communicate her ideas and cover the major points, I thought it worked amazingly well.”

Floyd worked with Ling to help her settle on a topic that accentuated her artistic strengths and would help prepare her for her career. Eventually, Ling chose to combine two subject matters she is very interested in — Appalachian culture and folk art — and present about Appalachian quilting.

“I thought it was really interesting, combining (folk art) with the influence of Appalachian culture on my life,” she said. “It was kind of like a way for me to combine my love of visual art and my love of Appalachian culture into one entity.”

Ling said folk art traditions, which include quilting, weaving, knitting and pottery, are a large part of Appalachian culture, making the two a good combination for her presentation.

“Folk art is something that’s really accessible,” Ling said. “It’s so steeped in tradition, both cultural and familial. When you get a quilt or a piece of pottery that’s been passed down through your family, I think that’s a really powerful thing.”

Ling said she first discovered her artistic side in an art class in preschool. She continued to take art classes throughout high school and frequently visited museums in her hometown, such as the Grand Rapids Public Museum and the Grand Rapids Art Museum.

“I’ve always loved (art) since the first class I took,” Ling said.

Ling also was introduced to Appalachian lifestyles at a young age.

“I grew up surrounded by that culture and became very interested in it,” she said.

Ling’s father is in an Appalachian, or old-time, band called Hawks and Owls that Ling joined in high school.

Through practicing and performing with her father, Ling said she was able to learn about the music and culture behind it.

“My dad knows a lot about traditional Appalachian music, so I learned a lot from him,” she said. “It was interesting to, instead of learning things off of sheet music, be able to learn things by ear in that oral, traditional way of learning. I found that resonated well with me.”

In the classroom, Ling sets the bar high for her fellow classmates. Professor in the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities Christopher Scales said during his class about Southern Appalachian music, Ling showed off her musical talents and set an example for her classmates.

“She has played with some of the really great musicians, (and) she brought that knowledge to the class,” Scales said. “She was one of the anchors in the group.”

Ling said she hopes to work behind the scenes at an art or cultural history museum, handling and taking care of the various pieces of work.

“I’m a very tactile person, so working with the physical objects is attractive to me,” Ling said.

Floyd said she believes through her hard work and life experiences, Ling should be successful in her future career.

“In the complex of students that we see, she’s always very self-assured,” Floyd said. “She sets goals very high for herself, but she’s able to rise to those challenges.”