by Marilyn Noble
(Visionary Writer on Purpose and Life On Purpose Graduate) (Reprinted with Marilyn’s permission)

I had a great experience this weekend at the Loveland show – the cover feature on the magazine that I edit this month is a young woman who does ceramic sculpture and is on her way to grad school at a highly competitive, illustrious art school in Michigan. In the article she talked about her goal of running a college sculpture department one day, along with continuing to produce her own work.

A couple of weeks ago, the chancellor of another prestigious college in Michigan, read the article and told Nancy, the magazine publisher, that he wants this young woman to run his department as soon as she’s finished with her MFA. He loved her art, he loved her teaching philosophy, and he loved her story. When I saw her at the show this weekend, I told her he would be contacting her in September after she gets settled in school.

She was so excited, and she told me that people were recognizing her work from the cover and flocking to her booth to buy it. She also thanked me for keeping her on the right path – when I interviewed her, she was wavering between two different grad schools, and I pointed out that an art degree from one of them would be much more valuable than a degree from the other.

I’ve had my interview subjects tell me that my articles were good and how much they enjoyed them, but I don’t think I’ve ever helped launch someone’s career before. It was gratifying to know I made a difference with my words.

NOTE: Receiving emails like this is so satisfying to witness the cascading effects that the Life On Purpose Process is having in the world. Thanks, Marilyn.

By the way, the magazine mentioned above is Sculptural Pursuits. Check it out.