Every Day is a Learning Experience

I had a chance to talk with four remarkable women, sisters, all born and raised in Ranchos, who share a love of community, a lifelong commitment to education, and dedication to their professions. And one thing more: they are all graduating from UNM-Taos at Commencement ceremonies May 15.

They have families of their own now and careers in their chosen fields, but they have all been able to commit the time and summon the perseverance to reach their educational goals. Rose Marie Martinez will receive an Associate of Arts in Early Childhood Multicultural Education. Joella Frances Apodaca will get her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. Victoria M. Romo will graduate with a BUS degree in University Studies in Sociology and Psychology, and Teddie Angela Zarasua will get her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education.

The four sisters were so busy they didn’t realize until recently that they were all going to graduate at the same time, and I wanted to know how this came about.

“We support one another,” Teddie explained, “and our kids have encouraged us. Rose and Joella volunteered at school when their kids were young, and I’d volunteer when my son was young.”

“Our mom, Evangeline Martinez, had an eighth grade education,” Joella said, “and I think we had different influences within the community as well. For me, it all began with Headstart. I loved school and teachers were my inspiration….then UNM-Taos provided the avenue where I could put my family first, take classes at night and not have to leave Taos.”

“I got on the job training in special needs while I was still in high school,” Rose said. I love being a teacher’s aide with special needs kids because you get to focus more on the child. I love touching hearts.”

“I work in the courts,” Victoria said. “and I enjoy helping the public. When people get in trouble it is a hard time for them, and when they don’t have a friendly face or someone they can come to it can be frightening….You can’t turn your back on them. You have to do the best you can to lead them in the right direction, get them educated so they can become self sufficient. It’s a personal choice to say I want to be a better person for my child, my family, my community, myself.”

All four women spoke of the significance of role models in their own lives, and the importance, now, of being a positive role model for kids trying to stay in school and lead productive lives.

“I like to be friends with my students, but they know that when I put my teacher cap on it’s time to learn,” Joella said. “I need for them to respect me as a teacher. I don’t baby them but try to bring them up to a higher level because I want them to get the best of what’s out there.”

“My fifth grade students know I’m graduating, and I took my cap and gown in and told them, if I can do this, you can do this,” Teddie said. “It has taken me many years and I’m a mother of two, but I’ve never sacrificed my children’s interests. I’ve always been there for them and UNM-Taos has really helped to support that, because classes are small, teachers are excellent, and you get that one-on-one attention. The professors take the time to get to know you. They care about you because they are community members as well. We are blessed to have these teachers; they really are our role models.”

They acknowledged that college is not for everyone, but there are many available alternatives, and it is essential for young and old alike to find career paths that not only provide income but produce a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment as well. Rose put it simply:

“Every day is a learning experience.”

And Victoria added:

“It takes a community to bring forth a productive community member.”

All four sisters agreed.

Springtime for the arts

CIRCLE OF SUPPORT
Alexia Mellor had lived in England and France, upstate New York and Seattle by the time her mother Jan suggested she come to Taos for a visit. What started out as a two week vacation turned into a two year introduction into the world of the practicing artist. At 28 she took Gary Cook’s art class at UNM-Taos and began to explore the local art scene.

“I had heard great things about Gary and thought this’ll be something fun to try,” she explained in a phone call last week from Boston. “Something I had never done before. And it just opened up from there.”

Mellor worked at the Millicent Rogers Museum, studied painting with Ray Vinella and worked in his studio, and enrolled at the Taos Institute of Art. This spring she is graduating with an MFA from The School of the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, and the Boston Globe has just recognized her as one of six up and coming artists in the region. “There are a lot of art schools in Boston, so it was really a privilege to be a part of that group,” she said.

This summer Mellor will be going to Turkey on a travel grant to complete her thesis, and if time allows before teaching duties begin in the fall, she plans to return to Taos for a quick visit. I asked her if she had any advice for artists who were just beginning their careers.

“The key for me is in trusting that inner voice, and seeking out people who will support it. You need that circle of support: the conversations, the structure, the formalizing of your ideas. Then you can explore whatever medium is appropriate to that idea, whether it is monoprint, photo, painting or a performance piece. You need to expose yourself to different ways of doing and making art.”

TEO MORCA RECOGNIZED
Internationally known Flamenco dancer and UNM-Taos instructor in the Arts Academy Teo Morca has just been named dance teacher of the year by Dance Teacher Magazine of New York. This is the first time a Spanish Flamenco dance teacher has been selected for this award, and a three day celebration is scheduled for July in New York City.

SPRING ART SHOW
The UNM-Taos Art Academy’s annual Spring Art Show is slated to begin May 3 with an opening reception from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the TCA Stables Art Gallery. According to Gary Cook, head of the Art Academy, it is the largest annual public event produced by UNM-Taos. Sponsored by a generous grant from UNM-Taos Student Government, the non-juried exhibition will showcase paintings, drawings, jewelry, prints, ceramics, sculpture, photographs, short films and woodworking by students of all skill and experience levels alongside seasoned professional artists. The opening reception will be catered by the Culinary Arts Program, and the show will run through May 14.

KEVIN MAHONEY PRESENTS PLAY
Kevin Mahoney, Coordinator of Film, Video and Theater Programs at UNM-Taos, has been invited to participate in the Script-to-Screen event sponsored by the Screen Actor’s Guild of America in Houston, Texas. His original screenplay, Clayton, will be given a full staged reading before an audience comprised of industry professionals, actors, directors and producers.

Celebrate Children as our future world citizens!

April 5th is Children Day in China and I think it is also in Japan. Ana at UNM Taos Library told me it is the same in Mexico. How wonderful it is to celebrate the young in spring when all is renewed and fresh.
As a child growing up in China I had to travel with my family a lot due to the war and political reasons. I learned many different dialects and got used to changes and new surroundings. English was the compulsory foreign language taught at my schools. I remember being very proud of my language skills when I came to study in United States.
Taking UNM Taos students to study in China the last few years have also made it very clear to me how important multicultural education and world travel can be for the young. In 2007 during our travels along the Silk Road, we encountered lovely children in Dunhuang who giggled and called to us practicing their English. In Qin Hai, Tibetan children loved seeing their own images in our digital cameras. But recently in a western part of the world, we saw lovely children getting in line for class in a school yard and poised our cameras to take a photo, we were stopped harshly by a nervous teacher who hustled the kids away from us. We realized that she was afraid for the children and we felt very sad and sorry. How can we erase the divisions and fear and misunderstanding that deprive us of our wish to appreciate and capture beauty and innocence?
Perhaps the answer lies in our united efforts to bring better understanding of other culture and languages in our education for our students; and let the children be our peace ambassadors.
So, let us gather to share our culture and stories, ideas to create more global classrooms for our future world citizens.
Come join us at UNM Taos Library and Student Lounge for this celebration on April 17th, 2009. For more information:737-6242, 776-5126

The UNM-Taos Report

NEW ENERGY ON THE SCHOOL BOARD

Stella Gallegos is from Arroyo Seco, and she now lives in El Salto. She is a graduate of Taos High School. She recently won a seat on the Taos area School Board.

I heard that she was also a graduate of UNM-Taos, so I asked her if she had gone to college right out of high school. She laughed.

“Oh, no,” she said. “I think it took me nearly ten years to start attending Northern. Back then we only had Northern. My son was in second or third grade and I started taking classes one or two at a time, and it took a long time to get my Associate’s Degree in Human Services. In ’93 I was ready to graduate but I had just one class I still had to take, and I was able to take it here at UNM-Taos, because they had just arrived. Then I was able to transfer that credit over to Northern, and I was able to graduate.

“I have always been deeply involved with my son’s schooling—he has a physical disability—and that kept me on the go. He was very involved in extracurricular activities; the chess team, going to basketball games, so I was on the go all the time. But I was able to get my Bachelor’s Degree in University Studies at UNM-Taos.

“Some students think that higher education is just for other people, not them. That’s not true. I could have been one of those people who said no, that’s not for me. I’ll tell you what, it wasn’t that easy for me, having to start way later. And to tell you the truth, in junior high I was serious about my studies, but once you get to high school…it’s tough.

“But by the time I went back to school I told my son I’m going to finish. There were times I wouldn’t sleep at night, but I did it.

“We’ve got to find ways to help kids stay motivated. We’re living in a time so different from when I went to school. Students need a lot of support from their teachers, the administration, and we need to listen to them and work with them. Things have changed so much in one generation. We need to expand broadband technology, and develop skills for those who feel that college is not right for them. I was one of those students that liked to ditch quite a bit, and I learned how to do it quite well,” she laughed.

“Extra curricular activities are a way to give students a sense of self esteem. Everyone needs that, and it saddened me to find out that stipends were being taken away from teachers. I know we’re facing shortfalls, but I don’t think we should cut from the students or the teachers. If we have to cut it shouldn’t be from the bottom. It has to be from above. A lot of people don’t want to hear that. A lot of people want change but a lot of people have fear, also. It’s not going to be an easy job; we’re not going to be able to make everybody happy. But we all have to stick together: the board, the administration, teachers, students, community if we are going to get through these hardships.”

STIMULATING READING

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, better known as the economic stimulus package, is a boat anchor of a book. Think three ring binder three inches thick. It’s heavy and hard to haul around, and the writing style can and will induce short term memory loss, nervous tics and bouts of narcolepsy.

But consider this: at face value, each one of its 647 pages represents well over a billion dollars.

That alone makes it interesting reading; it puts a certain perspective on the size of our economic troubles, and what it’s going to take to fix them. You would do well to have a look at it, whether simply out of morbid curiosity or because the opportunities in those pages could very well have a profound impact on our lives and livelihoods right here at home in the months and years to come.

That’s why we have a copy on reserve at the UNM-Taos Library. And because we are a public library funded by public money (remember the general obligation bond for libraries last November?) you don’t have to be a UNM-Taos student or member of the faculty to use the library; all you have to do is walk in and ask to see H. R. 1, the stimulus package. The library is behind the administration building on Civic Plaza Drive.

The money will be allocated state by state, so that New Mexico municipalities, school districts and other interested parties must contact state and local representatives to have input in the disbursement. In the case of UNM-Taos, we report to the Department of Higher Education. Of utmost interest to the college, of course, are the sections on investing in education for the 21st century and helping workers retrain who have lost their jobs, but also sections on green construction and solar and wind technology, modernizing infrastructure and improving public transportation.

You can also get a great deal of information from their website, recovery.gov, but you should still thumb through the actual document. It’s like going to see a moon rock: uninteresting until you find out where it came from and how much it cost.