Jessica “Decky” Alexander

Jessica “Decky” Alexander

Title

Director of Academic Engagement Programs

Years at EMU

20 years

Why You Like Working Here

I believe EMU is a canvas to paint on because it’s always in a state of dynamism. There’s always space to create. It allows me as an initiator and a creator to find places to create whether that’s an institutional accreditation or a graduate research conference. I also think it serves a real sociocultural purpose in this region as a school of opportunity and a place of possibility.

Favorite EMU Moment

I founded the Close Up Theater Troupe 20 years ago this year. It was summer 2016 and my last show with a co-worker. As the show was starting, we were off-stage and I was sobbing. I needed to go introduce the show. She turned to me and said, “The best is yet to come, I promise.” There is fear in letting go of something you created. The greatest gift I have had here is not the recreation of self but the creation of possibility.

Favorite Campus Spot

One of my favorite spaces is the Kiva room in the Student Center. As a performance artist, I love the concept of that room. I love the tier of it—its intimacy. It’s a great performance space.

Motivation

I am motivated by people that don’t have a voice or access to being heard. That drives almost everything that I do. It’s the deficit, not the asset that drives me.

Next Goal

Figuring out ways to use art to continue to push social and cultural change in a much larger way.

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