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Welcome to our e-newsletter
Minds in Motion
Congratulations to the Class of 2013! This month, we kick off recruitment, hear what happens when Clemente Course directors get together, and honor the amazing accomplishments of this year's graduates. |
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Free Minds Celebrates Its Sixth Graduating Class
Nine months of immersion in the humanities culminated Monday evening as the students of the Free Minds Class of 2013 walked the stage at the Harry Ransom Center's Prothro Theater to mark their graduation. They were a sight to behold in their red caps and gowns.
"Free Minds entered my life at a time when I didn't know what direction I was going in," said 2013 graduate Catrina Williams. "I feel that my life has been changed forever for the good."
This year's ceremony included congratulatory speeches from course faculty, advisory committee members, and DDCE staff. Free Minds Government Professor David Edwards encouraged those sitting in the audience to see graduates as a new educational resource. "Ask them about what they learned this year," he said. "Ask them about the meaning of citizenship. Ask them their thoughts on Shakespeare. You are sure to get some thoughtful answers."
Student voices also featured prominently in the ceremony, with 2013 grad Tasha McMillion representing the group as the class-selected speaker. Students Liz Buck, Cynthia Mays, and Catrina Williams shared poems, while Tari Jordan read a favorite excerpt from Anne Lamott's Bird By Bird.
The aspirations of this year's graduates include plans to obtain degrees in social work, early childhood development, and Spanish, as well as to complete documentary film projects and books of poetry. They embark on the next stage of their lives with newfound motivation. Marisol Benton put it boldly: "My journey from here on out will be a success." |
Applications Available for the
Class of 2014
Recruitment has begun for the 2013-14 academic year! Free Minds is seeking motivated adults to join us for a challenging and engaging two-semester college class in humanities to begin in late August.
If you know of any adults who would thrive in Free Minds, please direct them to our website or to our office at (512) 232-6093. Applications are also available online. Click here to apply now! Please contact our office to arrange a presentation at your organization.
Application deadline is July 5, 2013. |
Free Minds Director Attends Meeting of Clemente Course Directors
 If there's ever a time when Free Minds Project Director Vivé Griffith would delight in spending an entire weekend in meetings, it's when she gets to talk with others who work to bring the humanities to adults. In a book-lined room. With views of the Hudson River Valley.
That's exactly what she did in early May when she traveled to Bard College to a gathering of directors of Clemente Courses and similar programs from across the U.S. and Canada. Since the late Earl Shorris launched the first Clemente Course in 1995, his radical idea has inspired people to create classrooms where adults who have faced barriers to education can engage the big questions that have shaped human understanding. Free Minds was one of more than a dozen programs represented at the meeting, from places as far-flung as Halifax, NS, and Port Townsend, WA.
Vivé came back inspired and full of new ideas for the Class of 2014. She found that although the programs vary from each other in some ways, every director shared the core value of making a space where adults can cultivate their minds and express their voices. "I left feeling so affirmed in the work we do," she said.
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Do You Have Skills to Share?
Become a Free Minds Mentor!
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Angelique Martin, '13, bonds with Free Minds alumna Kellee Coleman, '07. |
Those of us who have achieved significant goals in our lives can often point to someone who helped us get there. Could you be that person for a 2013 Free Minds graduate?
Free Minds is looking for volunteer mentors who can make a year-long commitment to meet with an assigned mentee to map goals, connect with community resources, and transition to the next chapter of life.
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Special Thanks
We are deeply grateful to all of those who helped students of the Class of 2013 to complete this educational journey. There are more of you than we can name. Thanks especially to our 2012-13 faculty, as well as to our spring semester class visitors:
Dr. David Edwards, professor of government | Vivé Griffith, professor of creative writing | Patty Hatcher, professor of humanities | Dr. Domino Perez, professor of literature | Laine Perez, professor of academic writing
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Mary Cafferty, UT English Department | Christina Chapa, ACC Advising | Laurie Filipelli, poet | Charlene Gill, ACC Transitions Program | Lyman Grant, ACC Dean of Arts and Humanities | Alice Graulty, Cash for College | Michelle Guzman, UT Financial Aid | Clint McManus, Foundation Communities Tax Centers | Ellen Moutos-Lee, Regional Foundation Library | Toni Tipton-Martin, Sande Youth Project | Katie Van Winkle, UT Austin ACE program
If you are interested in volunteering with or supporting Free Minds, you can find more information on our website. |
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YOUTUBE: Stacey Kennedy, Free Minds '12, and her son Richmond talk about their journey from homelessness to college.
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Minds in Motion
Archive
April 2013
With graduation, a writing workshop, and a new mentorship program ahead, we think April is the sweetest month.
March 2013
The semester is coming into bloom with plenty of opportunities to grow with Free Minds.
A whole host of reasons to love Free Minds!
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The Final Word
Tasha McMillion spoke on behalf of her class at graduation on May 20. Below are excerpts from her speech.
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Tasha McMillion (left) assists fellow graduate Cynthia Mays with her cap. |
Nine months ago each one of us set out on a new journey in pursuit of education through the University of Texas Free Minds program. When we began this program we had no idea if the two nights a week from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. would work with our family and work schedule or what the course workload would be like. It didn't matter. Whatever sacrifice we had to make in order to be in the program, we were willing to do. At this time in our lives we yearned for something more. In faith we took a step towards Free Minds with the belief that this program would provide an opportunity for education.
On August 20, 2012, we entered into a classroom setting as strangers but each coming to together for a common goal: to further our education. We came in with open minds and hearts ready to receive. After the passing of days, weeks, and months, we have not only received knowledge but life enrichment.
On this educational journey we have had the privilege to be understudies of the very best
professors and instructors from the University of Texas and Austin Community College. They have imparted their gifts of knowledge, opened up our minds, and made us use and further develop our critical thinking skills. In this forum we were able to exercise the right to vocalize our opinions, share our beliefs, and ask the question Why. How often do you really get to ask that question? Through this opportunity we found power and freedom in our voice.
Being back in school has not been easy for any one of us. Several of our fellow classmates who began the program unfortunately did not make it to this point. We stand here today and say we are glad we hung in there and stayed for the long haul even at the toughest times, in school and in our personal lives. We entered the classroom on August 20, 2012, as students, and now we are a community and family.
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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
Project Director: Vivé Griffith Program Coordinator: Amelia Pace-Borah Ph: 512-232-6093 F: 512-236-1729
www.freemindsaustin.org |
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