First-Year
Accepts Award from First Lady
Michelle
Obama on the left, her mentor on the right.
Standing in the West Wing of
the White House in late October, it was a moment Fidelia “Kirby” Vasquez ’14
will not soon forget.
Vasquez
was asked by Sebastian Ruth, founder of in Providence, R.I., to accompany him to Washington,
D.C. to accept a 2010 National Arts and Humanities Youth
Program Award, presented by the First Lady. Fifteen programs
nationally, distinguished for their progress and potential
in improving the lives of young people, were chosen for the
award.
Kirby Vasquez ’14,
flanked by Sebastian Ruth (left) and First Lady Michelle
Obama, at the White House. (Photo by Michael Bowles) |
“Here I am surrounded by these amazing people,” Vasquez recalled recently about
the moment she and Ruth accepted the award on behalf of CMW. “I looked at Sebastian
and had tears in my eyes—just me and him there representing.”
Before engaging with Obama,
Vasquez was instructed by officials on the scene to keep
it to a simple handshake—no hugging or obsequious fawning. “But when
I came up to shake her hand, she gave me a big hug.”
For Vasquez, it was due recognition
for a program—and its founder—that has played
a prominent role in her life. Community MusicWorks, now in its 14th year, is
an after-school program that brings together more than 100 children in Providence
to learn instruments and collaborate in making and performing music. The program
was launched by Ruth in 1997 with funding from the Swearer Center for Public
Service at Brown University. Students participate free of charge.
Vasquez was
an 8-year-old spending afternoons in a local daycare when
Community MusicWorks staff members visited to teach children
string instruments.
“Someone asked me, ‘Would you like to sign up to play the cello?’” she said. “I
had no idea what that was.”
She came to know it well. After
dabbling in the instrument for a couple years, Vasquez considered
quitting until her cello teacher convinced her to stick with
it. Later, at age 15, she began
teaching others who frequented the program.
Though she continues to play
the cello today, as well
as guitar, her artistic focus shifted during her teen years
at CMW, when she met documentary filmmaker Jori Ketten, a
teacher with the program.
“She’s so important to me,” said Vasquez of Ketten. “She taught me everything
about film—interviewing, how to use a camera.” As a result, Vasquez has her sites
set on filmmaking as a possible career, perhaps combining youth activism. She
hopes to document her extended family—partly in Mexico, partly in the United
States—and the sociology of immigration.
Ketten and Ruth remain an important
part of Vasquez’s community. She is a member of the CMW board and stays in touch
with staff and students there. “The reason I’m here at Smith is because of Sebastian,” she
said, noting how Ruth researched schools and pointed her to Smith during high
school in Providence.
She can’t count how many hours she spent at the CMW over
the years. “I spent more time there than at home,” she said. “It was where I
had my first job. And I don’t come from the best neighborhood, so to have something
like that was amazing.”
It’s been a good year for CMW
founder Ruth. In addition to the award presented by Obama,
he is also the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship (nicknamed
the Genius Grant), which awards $500,000 to a few dozen Americans
each year in support of exceptional accomplishment and promise.
Recalling her week in Washington
with Ruth, Vasquez felt honored to be the one accompanying
him for the auspicious occasion. She performed with Ruth
three times during the week as part of the festivities, and
was interviewed by national media. “It was a really
intense week,” she
said.
And all deserved, she attests,
for the program and for a man who became her mentor and
friend.
“I owe the world to Sebastian and this program,” she said. “At 8, I had no
idea. But this program changed my life.” |
