Education as Modern Art

Had we entered an art museum? Red chairs flanked the automotive shop. Cubist-style furniture in canary yellow and poppy red dotted the lobby. It was 100,000-square-feet of bold architecture.

The space had a Picasso-esque feel, elevating learning to a creative feat. As it should be. All good things start with a creative heart.

Hosted by the Valley Industrial Association of Illinois and the Greater Chicago Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, my leading man Roderick Kelly and I explored Waubonsee Community College's new Technical Education Center situated on their main Sugar Grove campus, a launching pad to careers in automotive, welding and other meaningful work.

Speaker Ne’Keisha Stepney, Waubonsee's assistant provost of workforce development, captured the moment: "Workforce is where education meets purpose . . . we open the door to jobs that uplift lives."

I like thinking of education as modern art because #art shapes us. I like thinking about the stories that will unfold in this space that asserts: "I believe in you."

#Workforce #Manufacturing #CreativeThinking