LINCOLN, NE - Sitting in the cafe of The Magnolia hotel in downtown Denver, Colorado, this morning, a slice of gratitude shined on me. I was chewing on my strawberry cream cheese bagel—completely off my diet—reading a poem. It dawned on me that I am where I was intended to be and I could trace my footsteps back to a pink flyer I saw on the San Juan College campus in Farmington, New Mexico.
I was twenty-six years old, living back at home in Kirtland, New Mexico, after graduating from college with my bachelors in Journalism and Theater. Working as an Administrative Assistant allowed me to enhance my listening skills, apply my organizational skills to tasks, and able to offer productive input.
While delivering some paperwork to the main campus one day, I glanced at a bulletin board with announcements. A pink flyer caught my eyes. It said something on the lines of “Attention Native American filmmakers! Want to find jobs in film? Want to find funding for your film? Want to learn about how to become a filmmaker?” Hmm…I grabbed the poster and took it back to my office. I saw opportunity and a path to happiness for me; not to mention, a slight challenge in getting to Albuquerque, New Mexico, at a time when I had no car, was living with mom, and working a low paying job.
Mom was understanding and always listened well. I explained the poster to her when I got home. She simply looked me in my eyes and said four words— “we’ll get you there.”
My mom, a housewife of 35 years, gets fulfillment out of working today at sixty-four. The day of the conference, we coordinated it so that if we left at four o’clock in the morning, we would arrive in Albuquerque at eight o’clock—just in time for the conference. My mom would leave me and drive back home—allowing her to get to work by one o’clock in the afternoon. I would find a ride back home by bus after the conference.
This conference was absolutely miraculous when I look back at it today. Two things happened there. First, I found the New Mexico Filmmakers Intensive (NMFI) that accepted me after the conference for their pilot program funded by Governor Richardson. Secondly, I connected with Shirley K. Sneve, Executive Director of Native American Public Telecommunications, Inc. (NAPT)—my future employer—and continued to stay in contact with her via social networking.
Had I not seen the pink poster or, more importantly, took action on that poster I would not have grown and be where I am today—in Denver, Colorado, for a Native American Public Telecommunications, Inc. (NAPT) Board Strategic Planning meeting with a strawberry cream cheese bagel in hand.
At times like this, I can’t help but believe that NAPT is where it’s at right now for a reason. With current challenges to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), NAPT existence is at risk. This also means there is room for opportunity and growth that require action. The realities of NAPT’s existence lie in the actions we take—actions we take toward our vision for NAPT.
