Learn something new and thank a teacher

Growing up with a teacher for a father, I guess it’s no surprise that I’d end up working for a credit union founded by teachers. And while my father (that’s a painting of his one-room schoolhouse above) was a significant influence in my life, it was a college art teacher who changed my career trajectory – and my life.

I grew up in Prineville, a small town in Central Oregon. Forever the teacher, my father always encouraged my sister and me to try new things.

For me, one of those new things was art. I fell in love with drawing in third grade and pursued this love for years. Then, in seventh grade, I realized I needed an after-school job. I was making signs for the local stationery store, so I asked the owner if he needed any help around the store. To my amazement, he did.

I started sweeping the front sidewalk and cleaning windows. Eventually, the owner took me under his wing and started teaching me about the business side of his stationery store – inventory management, balancing the cash register, and how bookkeeping worked. Here, I learned debits and credits by actually writing them down in the General Ledger. This new adventure ignited a new love for me – a love of business.

I now had two loves: art and creativity, business and finance.

When I left for college at the University of Oregon, I had no idea how I could combine these two passions. And, since my dad was a teacher, I thought I could do that. So, I enrolled in the art school, thinking I would be an art teacher.

And this is where that art teacher who changed my life comes into the story. I was in a life drawing class, furiously drawing the model, when he stopped behind me, staring at my drawing. He kept staring for what seemed like an eternity, all the while not saying a word. What was he thinking? When was he going to say something? What would he say? The longer he stared, the more I became convinced he hated my drawing.

Then he spoke.

“I think you’re in the wrong school.”

 My heart sank. I was right; he hated my drawing. My mind raced as I heard him continue, “Don’t panic. Your drawing looks exactly like the model, and that’s good. But you’re working very hard to replicate what you’re seeing. You’re not trying to interpret what you’re seeing. And that’s what artists do – they interpret the world around them. I think you might be more comfortable in a career in graphic design or advertising.”

Prineville was not an advertising mecca, so I had no idea what that was. This teacher, however, cared enough to take the extra time to introduce me to a counselor in the School of Journalism and Communication, which housed the advertising program. At that meeting, I learned about a career path that combined my two loves: creativity and business. I’ve never looked back. My life trajectory changed that day because of one teacher who cared.

That same spirit of caring motivated sixteen teachers to come together in 1932 – in the middle of the Great Depression – to help their community weather the economic storm of their day. The caring of those sixteen teachers not only changed the trajectory of the community then, but it also continues to change the trajectory of the lives of hundreds of thousands of Oregonians each and every day. And that will continue for generations to come because of our members who care enough to join us.

I’m honored to be on the OnPoint team and hope to make those founding teachers proud and see how many lives can be changed. And I hope to make my father proud. After all, I’m trying something new, dad.

Just like you always taught me.