Support for MICA | Letter to the Editor

Published 10:30 am Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Support for MICA

My name is Haley, and I am writing to express my support for MICA. I am a Youth Theater NW alum and for me, that graduation ceremony felt like twice the rite of passage and the heartbreak of graduating high school.

Growing up in such nurturing, encouraging, creative, and dedicated artistic environment completely shaped how I view myself and how I interact with others. My time at YTN helped me learn how to listen, how to reach out to those who are feeling left out, how to take the backseat, and how to speak up. I don’t think there’s anything that fosters community, collaboration, and team building quite like theater, and YTN is an organization that excels in these areas.

The staff members of this organization care deeply about each of their students and work to make it a safe, supportive, professional, and invigorating environment for everyone involved. This kind of environment is crucial for creative development, and is invaluable when you are a young person trying to figure out what you love and how to be okay with yourself. A vote for MICA is a vote for a place where students can feel valued, respected, energized, engaged, inspired, and safe.

I hope you will consider what an opportunity for student growth and community this center for the arts will be! I know that growing up in the YTN community was the most rewarding, steadfast element of my young adult life. I hope that many, many other students have this same opportunity in the Mercer Island Center for the Arts. However, if plans for building MICA at the recycling center are discontinued, none of this will be possible. If they go through, I strongly believe that Mercerdale Park will be as green and peaceful as ever. There is going to be so much love in that building, and the families of Mercer Island deserve to continue to be a part of it.

Haley Gadzik

YTN Alumna