A Point of Pride:Editorial by Stephanie Lewis,NWACC Art Club Advisor

A small group of thoughtful people could change the world.
Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. -- Margaret Mead

Some people show up and stand on the sidelines. Some people actually get in the game. Some people need a carrot or a stick to entice or prod them into doing something. Some people do things because it's right, or it helps others, or enhances their community. Likewise, some people enroll in classes, attend them, and do homework, while others participate in their school's community, contributing to campus life. Some people look at their own lives and wonder only about what they can get out of it and those around them. Others look at their own lives and think of what they can contribute or share with others.

Over the last several months, I have had the pleasure of working with a group of intrinsically motivated, altruistic, organized, intelligent, and creative group of people to put on our fundraising concert event, Art Rocks. This was not an easy thing to get off the ground, and there were many obstacles and difficulties in our way. But, I have never been prouder of a group of people in my entire life. The breadth of skills brought to the table and the level of teamwork was astounding to observe.

The stereotype about artists is they don't work well together because their heads are in the clouds. This stereotype couldn't be any less accurate regarding this group of individuals. The individuals most closely linked with this project were Club President Sarah Carson, Vice President Mike Eckels, Public Relations Coordinator Sarah LaReau, Olga Ledyan, Alex Garcia, Kris Johnson, Malinda Moore, Mistie Allen, Oscar Felan, Jeremy O'Daniel, Debra Martens, and Alex Avitts. If I had a company, I'd want all of these people in my employment. They all have unique gifts that they willingly share, and humor when things don't go as planned. They think of how they can give or help, not what they can take or receive personal benefit from. They work well together.

During the course of this event's planning and execution, I learned some things about these individuals. Sarah Carson is a great leader and organizer. She's assertive, takes responsibility, and delegates when necessary, showing great discernment in who to delegate what job to. She put a tremendous amount of work into this project. A lot of that work went unseen, but it was appreciated tremendously. I learned that Mike Eckels is an excellent band roadie. Sarah LaReau is a great designer and promoter, but I also learned that she values altruism very highly, which is a rare quality. I learned that Olga Ledyan is an excellent wrangler of teenagers. Alex Garcia and Kris Johnson are diligent and talented event photographers. Malinda Moore works hard and only wants to know where she can be of help. Mistie Allen is an excellent emcee. Oscar Felan is a charismatic, young entrepreneur who willingly donated our raffle prize; as well as, drummed up donations during the Chalk Rocks event preceding Art Rocks. Jeremy O'Daniel and Debra Martens are a crack security team. Debra also always has a great sense of humor and a smile on her face. Alex Avitts knows how to motivate people into stepping outside their comfort zone and draw on concrete with chalk in the middle of the day. He also had some good advice about sound mixing.

If this event had been organized and executed by any other group of people, the problems we encountered would have been a discouraging factor to the work at hand. However, this group evolved from being goal-oriented to experience-oriented, and the fact that the event itself flowed so smoothly is a testament to this shift. These individuals are getting more than a college transcript out of their college experience, they are getting career experience, portfolios, and life experience. If you see any of these people in the halls at NWACC or around in the community, congratulate them on a job well-done.

After saying all of this, I want to remind everyone who is or wants to be a member of the NWACC Art Club, about something important. The seeming weakness of the fluid nature of any club or organization on the NWACC campus is also its strength. That fluidity democratizes the experience of being in the Club rather than setting up rigid hierarchies. You may be busy with your life or school work, but every talent and skill can be valuable and no contribution is too small to the life of the Club. There are many things members can do to help the Club that require little effort but have big impacts; such as, offering to put up fliers, forwarding emails about events to friends, attending and/or bringing food/drinks to events. The Club also values ideas and initiative to carry out those ideas. If you have an idea for an event or project for the Club, all we ask is that you spear-head the idea. The Club will help you carry that idea out--working as a team. I hope more people will choose to get involved in the exciting projects the Club is working on. All skills are needed and all campus members are welcome to join the NWACC Art Club --whether you are an artist or not--you only need to have an appreciation for art.