My Nonprofit Reviews

For nearly thirty years I was a member of the artist-faculty of the Oklahoma Arts Institute. During that time, I regarded the experience as a highlight of my professional year. Why? The administration is completely focused on being a diverse faculty, some nationally and internationally recognized, to share their expertise with young students in Oklahoma. These students are accepted in a competitive process and come from cities large and small to join a community who value the importance of creativity and imagination. I know that many of these students regard their experience at OAI as life changing and feel that Quartz Mountain is “home.” OAI offers young people with a place and n opportunity that is unavailable to them in their own communities. I know that the experience of OAI has served to launch students into successful professional lives. That OAI is a gem in the Oklahoma landscape is unquestionable. It serves the citizens of Oklahoma who value the arts, who value education, who value the very best for their children.

I have served on the music faculty of the Oklahoma Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain for 27 years and have consistently marveled at the educational depth and reach this organization has developed. By providing opportunities for Oklahoma high school students to step out of their comfort zones and their routines to enter into an experience of intense creative freedom guided by artists from across the country, lives are changed. Students learn how to focus their intellects and energy to creative purpose. Students learn the importance of collaboration and mutual respect. Students experience a level of artistic achievement that inspires them to go forward and grow as individuals with a greater sense of purpose. The Oklahoma Arts Institute is a wonderful model for what states can provide its citizenry.