Teaching Artist Nilea Parvin Talks About Her First Assignment with VSA Texas

Last week, I had the pleasure of sitting down with one of our longest running teaching artists at VSA Texas. Nilea Parvin, an Arkansas native, has been teaching with VSA Texas for over 10 years now. She came to us after a car accident left her with a traumatic brain injury and the uncertainty of whether or not she would ever teach again. After learning about us, she found her way back in to the classroom and the rest is history.

One of the first things you notice about Nilea is her ability to tell a story. Not only do you feel like you were there, but you feel like you were part of its magic. She brings out the very core of whoever she talks to and had me crying less than 5 minutes into our interview. To hear her tell the story of VSA Texas is to truly capture what it is we do here. We make people feel included, worthy and able. We give them guidance to become who they are.

After two days of wading through more than 30 minutes of video that I tried to cut down to less than 1 minute, I kept coming back to this particular chunk of our time together. When I got here this morning, I knew I had to scrap all my work and share this story. It is real and raw and beautiful. Please forgive the length, but there are some stories that cannot be told in less than a minute.

When people ask me why I do what I do, I'd like to show them this video and remind them that THIS is why I come in every day. If I can somehow touch one single life the way Nilea touched this young woman's, then that's a life well-lived.