For Jennifer Marsch, art has driven her to succeed in school. The City College and UCSB graduate earned a perfect 4.0 and been accepted into the prestigious Harvard Masters Program in Arts in Education and the Massachusetts College of Art and Design graduate program.

With a double major in Studio Art and Liberal Studies, Marsch worked as an intern with Dane Goodman at the Atkinson Gallery in 2005 and 2006. That same year, she was named the Art Department Student of the Year.

“The skills and knowledge I acquired and developed as intern at the Atkinson Gallery have shaped my interest in the art world and have prepared and qualified me for all of the work I have done since,” Marsch said. “I gained a great mentor in Dane Goodman, whose letters of recommendation for my graduate applications to Harvard and Mass Art are certainly part of why I was accepted at both programs.”

Atkinson Gallery Director, Goodman spoke just as highly of Marsch, saying that she stood out to everyone involved in the art department.

“Jennifer is highly organized and brilliant. She can see the big picture and takes charge,” he said. “Her intellectual curiosity makes her great to be around and she’s vibrant-everything you want in an intern.”

After being raised in Germany for 17 years, Marsch moved to Santa Barbara and attended Santa Barbara High School for her senior year.

The 24-year-old said she doesn’t remember a time when she didn’t have a passion for art, and that throughout her life it was “absolutely clear” what she would study.

Nina Warner, an associate professor in the Art Department at City College described Marsch as a “jewel.”

“I had her as a beginning drawing student in Art 120, and the thing that set her apart was that she was serious and a very hard, focused worker,” Warner said. “Making art takes effort and Jenni always took initiative to do better.”

Marsch, who draws in her spare time, said she is most inspired by art that has a performative element. Her favorites include the Yes Men, an artist group that parodies business practices with what they call “identity correction,” and Andrea Zittel who sews clothing and builds minimal housing units that explore ideas of habitat.

As for where she will be going to grad school, Marsch said she still hasn’t made up her mind. Both programs are exceptional, but she might be “leaning towards Harvard.”

Marsch currently works at the Museum of Fine Art in Boston as an art and art history instructor for visiting school classes. Her ultimate goal is to one day open her own art institute.

“Teaching is an opportunity to talk to other people and be a mentor to them,” she said. “That’s why art education is so important to me.”