​With LOVE, FAMILY, and EDUCATION sky is the limit!!!

Grateful phoenix rising

VATC - Our monument expresses how we all run into the fire, jump into the hole to help others emerge, grow, and become stronger individuals.

The genie bottle of life. As teachers, we bring so much to put in, and through a magic rub of the lamp (empathy, compassion, joy…) our students appear as more enriched human beings.

One idea that resonated with our group is the role of family relationships in navigating identity. Our monument shows an active volcano with a family home at the base. Family structures are powerful like volcanoes and shape our beliefs, attitudes towards work and achievement, and aspirations for our own personal and professional lives.

We chose to create steps to show how we overcome the struggles in our past to becoming a success person in the community. Some of the obstacles we had to overcome were: racism, loneliness, regrets, adversity. As we climb the stairs we reach: our identity, empathy, trust, and community.

This monument represents the balance between the demands that we face (time, energy, money), and the things we do that allow us to grow and serve (personal and professional). Recognizing that family, to us, means the people who bear the weight of our sacrifices, family has been placed at the base. An additional support of coaching helps carry the added weight when elements are out of balance.

Our story is an amazing work in progress! The main characters (stars) of our story are 'relationships' and 'connectedness' with the following also acting as supports: kindness; empathy; space; presence and reciprocity.

Phoenix heart rising from the shared trauma chain at the bottom

Joy, growth, and welcoming!!

We decided that our foundation comes with many layers represented by the different tape. The rings represented ongoing unity and connectedness. All while “hanging” in there.

Our group's discussion underscored a sense of freedom or breaking away from stagnant ways of thinking or being boxed in. We also talked about how important it was to allow ourselves to lean on others to support our needs without sacrificing our passions or sense of independence.

We created a tree that is deeply rooted in place, community, and our values. The leaves are heart-shaped to represent how important love is to all of us.

Our monument was built on a foundation of BELONGING & CONNECTEDNESS using puzzle pieces. There are reinforcements in our monument that show RESILIENCE, STRENGTH & ADAPTIVENESS. Our monument's purpose is to hold up a platform to promote HOPE & EMPOWERMENT!

What’s next? Design39 team is taking audacious steps to grow personally and professionally.

Our theme was “adapting to chaos”
therefore, we built a rollercoaster as life is chaos but adaptable!