Keith Tatarczuk ‘11
Artist
Why did I get involved? It started with shallow reasons. When I first heard about the project, all I knew was that it was a huge grant compared to anything the college had seen before and that it was for
the United Nations. It was a big name, big money (at least for a college student), and it sounded pretty amazing.
It wasn’t until my interview that I started to think about why I wanted to get on this project. I couldn’t tell my prospective boss I wanted to work on the job because it paid more than other jobs. So, I made up a reason. I certainly felt that it would be great to help women out there, to get involved in something a little more important than stocking shelves. It all sounds incredibly shallow, and of course it was. I’m not scared to admit it because as I worked on Empowering Play, I did more and more research.
With every Google search, every article I read, all the shallow reasons disappeared. There was something real now. There were cultures out there that grew up with the belief that it was okay to beat women, that doing so was necessary for a healthy relationship. This wasn’t a bad practice to them; they grew up with nothing else. These are the reasons that stick with me, that bite me when I wake up each day; the feelings I get when I see news reports from around the world. These are the reasons that matter.
This is when my head stopped thinking about the money and the experience and my heart started thinking about making a difference—a real difference. I didn’t and still don’t know how far this project can or will go, but its potential is like a ton to a gram compared to the fundraisers and bake sales I might have done in the past.
In August of 2008, the team traveled to South Africa to conduct research. The trip was single handedly the most amazing experience of my life. I hadn’t traveled much, but I think that some of the people we met would surprise and awe even the worldliest of people. I know what we learned changed everything in our lives and any preexisting ideas we had about the project, even if we didn’t realize it.
I got involved to help. I got involved to learn. I got involved to open my eyes.
