Are you interested in the arts? Do you feel that through the arts, you have experienced community, opportunities for expression, and connection? Are you looking for a leadership opportunity rooted in volunteerism and giving back through the arts? Consider applying to join the Teen Advisory Board at HCA!
The Hopkinton Center for the Arts is excited to promote an opportunity for student leaders of our area who are eager to share their enthusiasm for the arts: the HCA Teen Advisory Board. The board is currently recruiting students in grades 8-11. The purpose of the HCA Teen Advisory Board program, initiated in the Spring of 2021, is to give students the tools and opportunities necessary to advocate, organize, and campaign for a cause they are passionate about: nonprofit arts & arts education.
The curriculum of the HCA TAB experience will allow participants to volunteer and support the growth of a nonprofit organization in their community. Activities will be focused on leadership and team building, critical thinking, and community organizing. Students will identify goals for their activism and learn to take action on them through the guidance and mentorship of community leaders at the Hopkinton Center for the Arts Board of Directors and staff of the HCA.
The HCA TAB will promote the vision of the HCA as a regional cultural destination–where passions emerge and the creative spirit thrives, through student leadership and voice. Students selected for service on the HCA TAB will support the important mission of the HCA: to celebrate art through classes and events in visual art, theater, music, dance, ceramics, writing, and film.
HCA TAB Core Principles
Young people can acquire the tools, skills, and resources to become active and engaged community participants to promote the arts. TAB participants will:
-
Participate in educational experiences: we aim to teach our participants about nonprofits and how they work particularly the HCA.
-
Meet in person once a month, with additional intermittent meetings as needed, to learn about nonprofit organizations, specifically the HCA.
-
Participate in leadership training, explore issues in their communities, develop community organizing skills, and coordinate events to educate (and mentor) their peers and younger students. Students will come to listen to and appreciate one another’s experiences, perspectives, and ideas. They learn to identify shared problems and common goals.
-
Develop confidence and leadership skills.
-
Learn how to design their own campaigns and advocate for current HCA efforts (including fundraising and event planning)
-
Develop agency and future commitment to community service and social responsibility.
How to interview for the Teen Advisory Board:
We would be thrilled if you would join us in watching the HCA mission come to fruition. If you have the time (2-4 hours a month) and interest in joining the board we ask that you please send a (no longer than) 2 minute video that shares general information about you:
-
Your name, grade level, current school, and town you represent
-
What do leadership and volunteerism mean to you?
-
What do the arts mean to you? Please also share how you have participated in the arts and which art form you claim as your own.
-
Please feel free to share supporting stories/anecdotes to illustrate your commitment to leadership, volunteerism, and the arts.
If you are having trouble uploading your video, email it to