May 11, 2026
Personal Reflections
There is a tangible energy in the air this time of year as high school students eagerly anticipate summer vacation and or their graduation. I do not have any students in my personal life, yet this energy always manages to find me and make me nostalgic for my own high school days.
To this day, I still consider one of the happiest moment of my life to be when I found out that I made it into my high school’s jazz choir — a chamber ensemble of the highest level. It remains one of the biggest honors of my life because I had dreamt of being in that choir for so long and worked so hard to gain the musical skills I needed to advance to this level.
Earlier today, I found myself thinking about my fellow “jazzies” from my two years in that ensemble. I remain in touch with some of them, but there are many that I do not know anything about anymore.
The photo above was taken during the spring concert of my junior year (I’m the 5th gal from the right, and yes I was very blonde back then). I think about my peers and the dreams we had that we carried with us on stage. A handful of us had dreams of working in the arts after high school, but the majority had dreams within other career fields.
In choir, I witnessed first hand how impactful the arts were on students lives. We all found a sense of home in the choir room and gained confidence in performing and expressing ourselves. We built friendships with people we may not have ever talked to had it not been for choir. We learned about diversity through performing songs from many cultures, and gained teamwork and cooperation skills through rehearsal. The memories made and the abilities strengthened have greatly improved all our lives.
Last year, I interviewed some of my peers from choir on this very thing. Click here to read their reflections.
The importance of arts education has been on my mind the last few weeks, especially as I prepare to write an OLY ARTS article on that very topic for their next printed edition. Like many in the field, I have been deeply concerned about the proposed reduction to arts credits in the “Future Ready” high school graduation requirements. These could either eliminate entirely or greatly reduce what arts classes are offered in our public schools.
THIS SHOULD WORRY US ALL!
The arts have always been a target for budget cuts, layoffs, etc…We cannot cure a broken system over night, BUT we can advocate for the continued importance of arts education in public schools and voice concern over reductions all arts graduation requirements.
Please prioritize submitting a comment to the Washington School Board of Education on this matter. What you say does not need to be perfect, it just needs to be true.
Click here to submit your comment now!
After you have submitted a comment, make a plan to support a local arts organization that mentors students in the arts. These include Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia, Olympia Family Theater, Olympia Youth Chorus, Pacific Northwest Theater, Ballet Northwest, Studio West Dance Academy, and MORE!
These organizations will remain vital to our arts community regardless of what happens to graduation requirements.
This Week in the Arts
Coming up this week, I will be publishing three pieces in my JOLT Column including:
A review of Ballet Northwest’s “Swan Lake”
A sneak peek at Olympia Family Theater’s “The Hobbit” and next season
A sneak peak at Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia’s Spring Concert.
To read my articles as they come out, I invite you to subscribe to the JOLT News and/or follow me on Instagram and Facebook, then invite a friend to do the same! :)
If you read a story that inspires you, I invite you to share it with others and help spread the word about the incredible things happening in the Thurston County Arts Community.
Then, make a donation to The JOLT News so that we can continue to celebrate everything happening in our arts community.