8 minute read
Humbling and Exciting
ESU Alum Honored With the Milken Educator Award
On April 26, 2022, Megan Morgan (MLS 17-Library Science) became the 14th Emporia State University alum to receive the Milken Educator Award. For 35 years, this prestigious national award has been given to early-to-mid career educators who are already demonstrating impressive achievements. The announcement was a surprise for Morgan. It seemed like an ordinary day at Oliver Brown Elementary in Manhattan, Kansas, where she works as a librarian and library media specialist. The school was holding an assembly to celebrate the completion of their first round of state assessments as a brandnew school, Morgan was told. But as visitors started to arrive, she sensed there was more to this assembly. Despite tiny clues, she had no idea what was in store. Presenters began to speak about the Milken Educator Award, its cash prize of $25,000 and the many opportunities the recipient would have to meet other educators to network and exchange ideas and knowledge. Her mind raced about which of her fellow teachers might be the winner. “Because I’m the librarian, I collaborate with all the classroom teachers, and I know how incredible our teachers are. So, I’m looking around and thinking, ‘Oh, it could be that person— she does such amazing things—or that person.’ I’m trying to figure out who it is. Then, they announce my name. I stood there for a second, thinking, ‘Did I just hear what I thought I did?’” Her ears were not deceiving her. She was the person everyone had gathered to honor. The recognition is richly deserved. Morgan has spent the last 14 years as an educator. For the first seven years, she taught second grade. Then, she transitioned to her current position as an elementary librarian, first at Ogden Elementary School and now at Oliver Brown Elementary. She’s passionate about advancing literacy for all her students. “I love helping my students make the transition from learning how to read to using their reading skills to learn and gain more knowledge,” said Morgan. One project she has developed for older elementary students she calls ‘drive time projects.’ She helps them identify a topic they feel passionate about, aids them in researching the subject and then directs them to create a presentation or related event. The results are impressive. “I’ve had students organize a drive for the local animal shelter, plan a school talent show, create displays and iMovies—to share what they’ve learned with others,” said Morgan. Through the project, students not only flex their reading skills but also learn important lessons about organization, planning and how to conduct themselves as they work with others, including adults. Often students learn how to email or call to schedule meetings or receive information. For the animal shelter drive, for example, the students first had to contact the shelter and ask what resources were needed. Some projects required students to obtain permission from the school principal. Morgan believes engaging students with the individual subjects they find fascinating or are passionate about is the most potent way to encourage their learning and success. She knows it is true because she is living proof. Education is her passion. She said, “The Milken slogan is ‘The future belongs to the educated.’ It is so true. The people who will lead our country and our world are the students sitting in front of us now. They are the ones who are going to cure diseases and invent things that we have not even dreamed of. The chance it will be because of a trajectory I set them on is exciting. It’s humbling and exciting.”
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Healing, Connection, Community + Art
Emporia State University Art Therapy Students Apply Knowledge to Community Service
A cornerstone of an Emporia State University education is the opportunity to experience handson learning in real-world environments. ESU's art therapy master's program is a prime example of how hands-on learning works in practice and how it benefits students and the greater community. ESU’s art therapy program, one of only a handful of its kind at a public university in the country, is a combination of experiential and lecture-based learning. The 60-credit-hour Master of Science degree includes classroom and field experiences. The experiential components include a master's project or thesis, 700 hours of internships in at least two placement sites and service learning opportunities. This structure supports a symbiotic relationship between the university and the local community. Students provide skilled services for the community, and the community offers students opportunities to apply their knowledge. Dr. Gaelynn P. Wolf Bordonaro, a distinguished Roe R. Cross professor and professor of counselor education, has been leading Emporia State University's art therapy program for nearly 17 years. She said one of the unique and exciting aspects of the program's experiential learning opportunities is encouraging students to directly connect with organizations they feel passionate about assisting. "One of the assignments in the Art Media and Material Use in Art Therapy course invites students to engage with nonprofits and social service organizations in the community to provide an artsbased experience. It can be that they make art, lead art-based workshops or create unique spaces; we have had students who have made art for nonprofit groups’ auctions, made art for and with pet adoption organizations, installed custom artwork in mental health agency waiting rooms and made interactive art for the cancer centers in Emporia and cities across the region. They have created murals for SOS, public schools and right here on the ESU campus. Some have hosted workshops where they make art with others; for example, recently a student led a painting activity with health-care workers who were highly stressed and experiencing burnout as a result of the increased pressures of COVID; another student painted a tropical forest inspired mural for the Cotton-topped Tamarin enclosure at the David Traylor Zoo. This spring, several students were excited to create artwork to install at the new Bloom House Youth Services Center," said Wolf Bordonaro. Bloom House is a drop-in center and shelter in Emporia for homeless, housing insecure and runaway youth (the only Basic Center Program in the state). It provides safe housing, trauma informed art therapy and other mental health services, life skills training and a safe space to study and engage with others. Two of those students who chose to partner with Bloom House are recent graduates, Willa Frazer (MS 22-Art Therapy Counseling) and Kristina Carbrey (MS 22Art Therapy Counseling and Clinical Counseling). Each created interactive art installations designed to foster a sense of belonging and community.
Carbrey's project, developed in conjunction with fellow student Stephanie Thompson, was the creation of a playful gallery-style wall space where the youth can display their own artwork, or add temporary expressions using chalk. Part of Frazer's contribution was an interactive textile weaving; materials and instructions were provided next to the installation, which was designed to encourage residents and those seeking services at Bloom House to contribute and leave their mark.
"We made an interactive piece consisting of decorative corkboards for teens to pin up their artwork and supplied decorated frames to encourage them to take ownership of the space and contribute in a meaningful way. Adding to the gallery wall is something they can do to feel connected to the community. The opportunity to share, in that way, can develop self-esteem and a sense of belonging. This is particularly important in the adolescent developmental stage, which is the age of the population Bloom House serves," said Carbrey. These projects allow students to explore the variety of ways art therapy can serve different populations and wide-ranging needs. "Art therapy marries the constructs of artmaking and psychology. It uses art-making in therapeutic relationships to address personal and community well-being, pain management, mental health challenges and improve group and family communication and relationships. Expressive art is used to find insight, advocate for social justice, treat addiction and ameliorate self-destructive behaviors, and can be done in almost any setting where counseling and psychology are practiced, including traditional places for mental health — such as counseling centers, in- and out-patient psychiatric facilities, medical hospitals, hospices centers, public schools, addiction treatment facilities, jails and correctional facilities, public and community settings, and more," said Wolf Bordonaro. Through these community-focused projects, Emporia State’s art therapy students have explored innumerable ways they can apply their art therapy training while building unique relationships with service and nonprofit organizations that capture other interests and passions. "[The art therapy program] has been a wonderful program. The collaborative learning experiences and settings lend themselves to direct engagement and build on a sense of community as part of your internship experiences and work in the program," said Frazer.
It is hard to overstate the roles art therapy can play in a society, the quality of the graduates Emporia State is producing and the value they provide through their service as students.
"It's wonderful that right here in the middle of the country, we have a public university graduate art therapy program creating master’s level mental health clinicians who can contribute so much to their communities and clients. Our graduates are clinicians who have the skills to work with people with diverse mental health needs; they are also prepared to work with individuals and communities to develop selfcare strategies before problems become long-term or lifelong," Wolf Bordonaro said.
