Creative Opportunities
Once there was a little girl who left her crayons on the seat of her daddy’s car in the scorching summertime. It can probably be left unsaid that Daddy was not pleased, but the melting crayons created an amazing piece of artwork that lasted as long as the car, creating an impact on the girl as permanent as the impact on the upholstery. The girl discovered that when she was creating artwork, she was at complete peace with the world.
When the girl entered the awkward stage of middle school she was given an assignment to design and produce a t-shirt. She discovered “graphic design” and the personal satisfaction that comes from focused creativity and the final product.
In 1979, one teenager merged with 600 others in a large high school. The teenager decided to try to get into the affiliated vocational-technical school by taking a talent test to be accepted into the commercial art program. For the next three school years she attended the program for half days learning the skills necessary for a career in an art and design field. While still in high school, the teenager was chosen for a co-operative education job at a small advertising specialties company. She stayed there for three years as the main artist and learned all that she could about the industry, vowing to only accept jobs that were art-related.
In 1993, a teacher from a technical school called a workplace-requesting artists to visit the classroom and share their portfolios with the students. A woman volunteered and found that she loved being with the teens. The teacher, who became a mentor to the woman, encouraged her to pursue teaching commercial art through the “workforce education” program at Penn State. The woman passed the written and practical competency exam, which qualified her for a temporary teaching certificate good for three years. Within that time frame she applied for a teaching position and was hired. She felt so lucky that her new employer would pay for her continuing education and she thoroughly took advantage of that amazing benefit! She has attained a teaching certificate in Workforce Education and is pursuing continuous education in the art and education fields.
I suppose you’ve probably figured out that I am the girl and woman in the preceding story, but now I am much older and have three amazing children from a 25-year marriage. Throughout my career I have developed my skills at various creative companies, always working my way up with increasing responsibilities and a paycheck that did not keep up with the rate of inflation. Eventually I realized that I needed a college education in order to stay employable and competitive with the new generation that was entering the scene and taking all the well-paying jobs. The problem was I couldn’t afford it! Was it fate that led the mentor to call the company where I worked? Opportunities will present themselves inconspicuously, and you may not recognize them at first. It is crucial in life to take every opportunity that you are offered because you never know what the final result will be. Had I not visited that classroom, I would not have discovered teaching and my life surely would be very different today.
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