Board member Pat Tuller and her very gracious husband Howard were our hosts for the night, and their house was such a treat to invade. It was beautiful! They have an outside fireplace, a lap pool (too cold to use, but pretty to look at), and tons of cool gadgets from the 1950s and ‘60s. The basic plan for the evening was to introduce SharMoore’s volunteers and funders to VOICES’ volunteers and funders and to thank them for all of the work they do.

At around 5pm, Krista, Stephanie and I arrived at Pat’s to start preparing. We set out plates and helped Pat arrange the catering (chimis!!!!), but most of the work was already done. So we took a VIP tour of Pat’s sewing studio, which is incredible (she is a professional seamstress. She puts your craft room to shame, I promise you.). Friends started arriving soon after, and we watched quick videos about VOICES, courtesy of VOICES board member Ray Frieders and Cox Communications, and about Stories that Soar. We also heard from Tiana Velez, who told us that her favorite part of being a mentor is helping youth through the same writing problems that she faces everyday as an editorial assistant at the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Tucson.

Highlights of the evening included: one VERY SERIOUS ping-pong game between our former Associate Director Rachel Villarreal and current AmeriCorps Project Assistant and Video Instructor Donny Tran (Donny won, after lots of whining from Rachel, just in case you were curious); Ben Truman (AmeriCorps Project Assistant and Magazine mentor) tending bar in Pat’s backyard; and of course, seeing all of the VOICES and STS volunteers and funders hanging out and enjoying each other. I’m a sucker for holiday parties, and I loved it. I think we should have one for Valentine’s Day.

Photo Captions:

1:  Supporters of the soon-to-be-merged VOICES and SharMoore Children’s Productions attend the 2009 Holiday Party to celebrate the past year’s accomplishments. Party guests include (standing row) SharMoore Children’s Productions Artistic Director Sharon O’Brien, VOICES Board member Ray Frieders, VOICES Volunteer Tiana Velez, Marie-Claire Strang, VOICES Board Member Kirk Strang, SharMoore Children’s Productions Board member Andres Cano, VOICES Volunteers Jill Torrance and Mamta Popat, (seated row) VOICES AmeriCorps Project Assistant Ashley Raasch, Erika Korowin and VOICES Writing Mentor Josh Garcia.

2:  VOICES Executive Director Stephanie Balzer (center) welcomes guests with VOICES Board of Directors President Amanda Kraus and SharMoore Children’s Productions Artistic Director Sharon O’Brien.

3:  VOICES AmeriCoprs Project Assistant Webster Truman (right) pours VOICES Volunteer Jill Torrance a glass of wine.

4:  VOICES Volunteer writing mentor Tiana Velez speaks about how much she enjoys mentoring VOICES Youth Apprentice writers through the writing and editing processes.

5:  VOICES AmeriCorps Project Assistant Donny Tran (left) plays an impromptu game of ping-pong with former VOICES Associate Director Rachel K. Villarreal, PhD.

(VOICES Photo/Josh Garcia)

I picked up Hector Mendoza and Lilliana Lopez and we got to Oracle as fast as we could. Hector was running late for his interview, so he got a crash course on photography from Lilliana in the car. We arrived as the sun began to set, and one of the owners of Jax Kitchen met us at the door. His name was Brian Metzger, and he was ready for his interview.

Hector was more excited than nervous. We had spent weeks preparing for this. We practiced listening skills, follow-up questions, getting the answer you want instead of a “yes” or “no” response from your subject. That was how we talked – interviewer and subject. We prepared for the worst, and in the end, Hector felt ready for not just one interview, but two!

Brian led us into the kitchen and introduced us to subject number one, head chef Casey McQueen. Casey answered questions on everything from wine storage to growing up in a household that loved cooking. After interview one wrapped up, Casey prepared a scallops dish for us. Lilliana and Hector devoured it as I stood off to the side, nauseated by the tiny allergens in the scallops, watching them eat.

Brian, subject number two, was up next. Hector, as expected, performed professionally, and as he was cruising through the interview, getting some details about the many elements of fine dining, I realized something. This was not a youth turning into a professional; this was a professional. He was preparing an article for a news service. He was getting paid for his work. Everyone at VOICES did this.

Four days a week, they turned out work. They set up interviews. They wrote and told stories. All I did, all we did, as mentors, was coach them towards excellence. When they give us their final drafts, they are often powerful, heartwarming, or even heartbreaking news pieces.

After I dropped Hector and Lilliana off at VOICES, they told everyone how the interview and photo shoots went. I got back into my car and started it up. Before driving away, I thought of all the journalists out there. Not just the adults, but the ones in high school who were still learning. Didn’t they all have something in common? A drive to be great or to tell a good story? VOICES made me reconsider what a professional was. I knew Hector would write a great article, so I shifted into gear and drove home. It was dark. Tomorrow, we would talk about transcription.

As soon as Hector Mendoza has his piece on fine dining published, we’ll be sure to let you know. Stay tuned! — Joshua Garcia, VOICES’ Writing Mentor

Jazz Solos and Social Skills

By:  Brigette Dumais, 16, Tucson High Magnet School

The coffee shop at the Idyllwild Arts Academy in the mountains of southern California had several round tables that could sit four or five people at once, wooden floors and big windows that faced the forest. It smelled like rain and freshly brewed coffee. I was sitting by myself at a table by the windows, feeling very nervous about playing my very first solo at the final music camp concert. I had just discovered jazz, and it was like a foreign language to me. I don’t know how I managed to audition in to a solo spot. Regardless of the reasons, I still had to play an improvised solo in four days and I needed help. So, I asked two other musicians to meet with me after band practice. When they finally showed up, I was having a full-blown panic attack. They were experienced jazzers, I didn’t want them to know how amateur I was. “Brigette, relax,” they told me. “It’s your solo. You can play whatever you want. Don’t be afraid to play something simple, just outline the arpeggios.” We spent the next half hour writing out my solo. The jazz we were playing made social interaction absolutely necessary: in order to develop improvisational skills, we learned to listen to the other players and borrow and exchange ideas with them.

When I came back to Tucson for my first semester at Tucson High, I enrolled in band, and realized that social interaction is what the arts are all about: in order to make good music, you have to be able to be creative and interact positively with the people playing around you. When I joined the band program, I made a lot of friends who weren’t just the stereotypical band geeks that are portrayed in movies like American Pie: they didn’t sleep with their instruments, they didn’t have out-of-fashion clothes, they didn’t talk about “this one time at band camp” all the time, and they had passions other than just band. These band kids were smart and high-achieving. Being around my new friends inspired me and challenged me to be successful. By the time I had finished my first semester at Tucson High, I had a 4.0 GPA and a newly discovered sense of self-confidence.

Unfortunately, The Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) has cut their budgets this year. Even more unfortunately, these budget cuts leave fine arts programs vulnerable. While funding for the arts has always been slim, the band kids at Tucson High have already begun to feel the lack of support: instruments sit in the back of the band room, unrepaired, our jazz band’s trips to jazz festivals are in jeopardy, and our band director got a RIFF notice. This is all at Tucson High—a fine arts magnet.

Learning the arts in school is necessary because it allows students to discover opportunities they may not have otherwise known existed. My family has always encouraged me to explore the arts, even outside of school (that’s how I found my way to Idyllwild). But what if I wasn’t encouraged to pursue the arts? How would I have found my niche? I would have to rely on the information I receive at school. And 2+2=4 does not directly lead to social skills or excelling grades.

Cutting fine arts classes from public schools deprives students of opportunities they might not seek if they hadn’t become interested through school programs. Students go to school to get an education—and the arts teach the flexibility and social skills we need in order to succeed in and out of the classroom.

(VOICES Photo/Reyes Suarez)

Must. Get. Those. Done.

It is the dreaded season of college applications, and VOICES seems to be a place a lot of youth come to for help. Which is neat. If you think about it, we have whole groups of highly educated, compassionate adults who are practically begging to help kids with their college plans. Not a bad situation to be in if you’re 17 and planning on going to a 4-year university but don’t necessarily know how to get from Point A to Point B. Or you just need a kick in the bum to get you going. Either way, we’re here and ready to help.

I remember applying to colleges in the upstairs extra bedroom of my parents’ house in Illinois. I had a plastic file folder labeled with all of the schools I wanted to go to—Colby College, Macalester, Rolla, the oh-so-dreamy-but-way-too-expensive-Brown, Michigan, Illinois—and I did all the easy parts first. I filled out my name, age, and various volunteering experiences. Then I got stuck on the essay.

What is the most challenging obstacle you have had to overcome and what is its significance in your life? What is the greatest challenge your generation will face and how will you handle this challenge? How do you foresee the world of 2020? What is an issue of great personal importance to you? How do you describe yourself as a human being?

Hard, huh. If you’ve already been to college, do you remember how you figured out your personal statement? Did you write drafts? Stay up all night and turn in whatever you managed to pull together? Some kids have a favorite English teacher who’s willing to help them. Others head to test prep centers. I was lucky—my parents were English teachers (!). But a lot of youth don’t have these options.

One of my favorite things about working at VOICES is all of the mentoring that happens in between publishing stories. I love helping out with the college application process because our youth are already prepared: they already know how to write personal essays that connect their experience to larger community issues. They already know how to use their own personal experience to support an argument. And to boot, they are funny, smart, and see the world in ways that many of us can’t. Take that, personal statement.

This coming Tuesday, December 8, AmeriCorps Leader (and photography mentor) Ashley Raasch and ASU Social Work Intern Lisa Bartkowski will host a college prep night from 4:30-5:30pm at the VOICES office for current VOICES youth. In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed for all of our seniors who are in the middle of the application process! We’ll make sure to keep you updated on their all of their successes.

Lewis, a “self-described all-around nerdy teen,” shares his adventures in cosplay, in which he dresses up as his favorite villain from a video game and prepares for his first major cosplay convention.

AZSpotlight_2009_11_20_Voices_L_Dawley-Hill.mp3

(VOICES Photo/Lilliana Lopez)

KUAZ: Katie Tarter

Katie Tarter, 17, is a senior at Tucson High School.   (photo by Reyes Suarez/VOICES)

http://radio.azpm.org/azspotlight/