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The student news site of Milwaukee Area Technical College

MATC Times

The student news site of Milwaukee Area Technical College

MATC Times

The student news site of Milwaukee Area Technical College

MATC Times

The Phoenix – forever evolving

 

Deep within us are dormant unique abilities unseen by human eyes, waiting to be harnessed through the manifestation of our talents. Once you grasp that omnipotent resource of strength and empowerment, the desirability to channel that creativity should be brought to light for the world to admire and marvel your brilliance.  

Recently, ‘The Phoenix’ became an official organization, part of MATC’s Student Life.  “Being an organization gives us a broader audience and a chance to capture the attention of the students and faculty around all campuses.” Jeff Henry, President of The Phoenix, spoke about his journey as a leader and his recent meeting with the MATC Board, “I was a bit nervous, but about a half hour later it was smooth sailing,”  Phoenix Literary and Arts wants to find ways to partner with the Milwaukee-area community.  Their organization wants to build a relationship with libraries, local schools, art galleries, and bookstores.

The Phoenix Literary and Arts  Society (PLAS) welcome those who have the passion and artistic integrity to express their work for their publication. Established in1969, ‘The Phoenix’ in contrast to the ‘Times’ is an individual expression through writing, art, and photography. Even though they were not an official organization, they have been a presence on the campus of MATC for years as an annual publication distributed called “Phoenix”. 

While speaking with Henry, he discussed his upcoming plans for the organization and the community.  Henry said, “Our publication is currently distributed at Open Mic events and is called ‘Phoenix Now’.” When asked about how The Phoenix will compare to other campus publications, Henry stated ‘It would be small in its content, but would give you a variety to glance over and anticipate the grand publication combining the work for that year collected’.

Forging together with The MATC Times, The Phoenix will now be showcased on the Times website, giving their artists twice the exposure and more opportunities to get others involved in their projects from this partnership. In addition, you can find ‘The Phoenix’ through their website www.matcphoenix.com, Phoenix Now, and the MATC2Go Application.  PLAS will continue to soar as an organization, giving back to the community great talent such as Kwame Grayson, Artist, who will be featured on the cover of the recent “Phoenix Now” distributed at the Open Mic on April 17.  

Jason M. Kolodzyk, English Instructor and Faculty Adviser for The Phoenix, maintains the order and responsibility of the content produced for the Phoenix. Kolodzyk stated in his email “Beyond the Open Mic events and the two Phoenix publications, we hope to work with other student organizations at MATC as well as other departments at MATC in order to create a more diverse experience for all involved.” 

 

Furthermore, he hopes to form alliances with the Graphic Arts department and the Latino Student Organization, to name just a few of the groups they are looking forward to working with closely. “Sincere gratitude goes to Bob Hanson, faculty adviser for the MATC Times, who will implement a section of the MATC Times website to showcase Phoenix publications!” says Kolodzyk

They intend to host four Open Mic events each semester (one at each campus) to give the students a creative platform and awareness to the creative community to all. The next Open Mic event will be at the West Campus in the cafeteria on May 1. If you would like to submit your work to PLAS, go to: , complete this form and upload your creative pieces, and click the “submit” button at the end of the form. When asked about the future of the Phoenix, there was no better way to end with this statement from Kolodzyk, “We have big dreams and we are just getting started in our pursuit of them.” 

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