Free Minds
February 2011
Welcome to our e-newsletter
Minds in Motion  

This month's newsletter offers a backstage pass to an acclaimed Scottish play, a March calendar packed full of events for students and alumni, and a revealing look at the program's impact. Plus: a lifelong learner has the final word.
Black Watch Opens Dialogue on Art and War

A highlight of the spring semester so far was the exploration of Black Watch, Gregory Burke's play about the Scottish Black Watch regiment and its 2004 deployment to Iraq. Students studied the play as part of the creative writing unit, discussed it with class guests, and saw it performed live by the National Theatre of Scotland at UT's Bass Concert Hall.


On Valentine's Day, Judith Rhedin, Director of Campus and Community Engagement at Texas Performing Arts, and Dr. Pauline Strong, UT Humanities Institute Director and Associate Professor of Anthropology, joined the class to help break down the play for students. They talked about Black Watch as a work of art, a piece of reportage, and even an ethnography that documents elements of Scottish culture and heritage.

Students were intrigued by the play's portrayal of solidarity and combat, its tricky dialect and harsh language. However, it wasn't until they saw the play performed that the experience truly came to life. The drums and bagpipes and smoke and explosions all contributed to a sense of on-the-ground immediacy. 

"I truly believed these were soldiers first and actors second," said student Emily Whitehurst.

Many students talked about the play's powerful final scene. As the soldiers marched around the stage in formation, helping each other off the ground whenever someone collapsed or fell out of rank, "it made me think how soldiers are literally dying while we were there watching the play," said student Shermin Penn. "The fallen are always with us, in our minds. They are never left behind."

Upcoming Free Events for Students and Alumni

 

March 5 11am - 5pm: Explore UT Day 

 

March 5 2pm: Kick-off event for the tenth annual Mayor's Book Club, including a reading by Tim O'Brien, author of The Things They Carried. Faulk Central Library.

 

March 9 7 - 8:30pm: Master class with ACC Professor Marcus McQuirter on the film For Colored Girls. Community Engagement Center.

 

March 22 7:30pm: American Shakespeare Center presents Measure for Measure. UT's Texas Union.

 

March 26 9am - 1pm: Free Minds College Fair: Learn about applications and financial aid and meet representatives from local colleges and universities. ACC Eastview Campus. 

 

March 28 6:30 - 8:30pm: Lawrence Wright, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction for The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, visits Free Minds class. Austin CAN Academy.

 

March 29 7 - 8:30pm: Master class with Clayton Stromberger on Shakespeare's Measure for Measure for those who saw the play and those who didn't. Community Engagement Center.

Alumni Survey Reveals Program's Impact Extends Beyond Graduation
L-R: Victoria Duose, Judy Irving, and Abbie Navarrete, Free Minds class of 2007 
In Summer 2010 Free Minds surveyed its graduates to gather feedback on the long-term impact of the program. Results affirm that the skills learned and connections made in Free Minds continue to have a positive effect on students' academic goals, careers, and family life long after graduation.

Whether interviewing for a new job, interacting with a college professor, or taking their children to the museum, alumni  reported increased confidence and ability. Alumni also described personal growth, an increased ability to think creatively, and a renewed sense of direction. "Free Minds went beyond my expectations," said a 2008 graduate. "It gave me a measure of self-confidence that would have taken me more time to find on my own. When I found it, it was the best thing in the world. I couldn't wait to go to class. I would have to rate that experience up with the birth of my daughter, one of the best in my life."
   
By the numbers...   

77% have taken other college classes since finishing Free Minds.


83% use skills gained in Free Minds in the workplace.

Of those whose jobs have changed since graduating from Free Minds, 70% attribute that change to Free Minds.

90% agree that their experiences in Free Minds had a

positive impact on their children

Issue 11
In This Issue
Semester Highlight: "Black Watch"
Upcoming Free Events
Alumni Survey Reveals Long-Term Impact
The Final Word

Special Thanks

Studying and seeing the play Black Watch was a moving and memorable experience for Free Minds students and faculty. This month we thank those who made this cultural engagement possible:


Kathleen Panoff,

Director of Texas Performing Arts, for bringing Black Watch to Austin and making it accessible for a variety of audiences; 


Judith Rhedin, 

Director of Campus and Community Engagement at Texas Performing Arts, for sharing her expertise with our class and securing tickets for our students and faculty; and

Dr. Pauline Strong,

Director of the UT Humanities Institute, for bringing her personal and scholarly perspective to the play as a guest instructor in class.


If you are interested in supporting Free Minds, you can find more information on our website.


 
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Minds in Motion

Archive

  

   

January 2011 

Ancient Arabic literature, contemporary American art, and a brand-new writing workshop.  

 

December 2010 

Staff, students, and an alumna offer thanks for a successful semester and a dream job.


November 2010 

Meet a student, a former faculty member, a volunteer and her grill pan

October 2010 

  • Adventures with Shakespeare and a master class with Dr. Domino Perez

  • September 2010 

    Read about the new semester, including a reflection from founding director Sylvia Gale



     
    Visit the complete archive on our

    website! 

     






    The Final Word

    Free Minds Student Rachel Martinez on Lifelong Learning






    I always wanted to go to college, I just thought that I wouldn't be able to make the grade. I was absent from school a lot due to illness, and as life would have it, I stopped going to high school at the end of my junior year to establish my current occupation as a mother. I had to provide for my family, sometimes working three jobs at a time. But I have never been a quitter and I believed that a high school diploma was better for me than a GED. I graduated high school in 1974, three years after the rest of my class. I was so glad and proud to have completed that part of my education.

    I've had many jobs with very interesting people who all had degrees in several fields. The only way I kept up with them was by staying current on what was happening in the world. I have had an exciting experience volunteering during the past 16 years -- 13 with PTA /Austin Council of PTAs -- and at the moment I'm president of my neighborhood resident council with the Housing Authority (HACA).

    Life taught me many things, but I couldn't get over my self-doubt, and my spelling was atrocious. How could I get into college?

    I first heard about Free Minds during a meeting at HACA. The presenter was still talking when my hand went up in the air. I knew this was for me. I filled out the application on the spot and was on cloud nine in anticipation of being accepted. When I got the good news, I felt like a kid with new shoes ready for the first day of school.

    Classes started and I found myself surrounded by talented and inspired adults. We all had one common desire: to continue learning. Reading about history, literature, and the humanities, and then applying what I learned onto paper in my own words, was both exciting and nerve-wracking.
       
    Taking this class with Free Minds has inspired me to apply for scholarships through HACA and seek an Associate of Arts degree in creative writing. Writing is something I could do from home or even part-time outside in the community. I have so many stories that I want to share. It took 36 years to start college and now I don't want to stop.
    Free Minds header
    A program of the UT Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, in partnership with the UT Humanities Institute, Austin Community College, and Foundation Communities, Free Minds offers a two-semester college course in the humanities for Central Texas adults who want to fulfill their intellectual potential and begin a new chapter in their lives.


    Free Minds Project
    Community Engagement Center
    1009 East 11th Street, #218
    Austin TX 78702

    Ph: 512-232-6093   F: 512-236-1729
    www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/freeminds