Dear Readers,
I am delighted to bring to you Dream Tank’s Annual Report for 2017. I was assigned this report when I signed onto Dream Tank as a Fellow at the end of August, and have since been working hard to deliver what would be a culmination of our successes and stories from our first full year of operations. Before this Fall, I was enlisted in the Leeds Business School at CU Boulder and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to activate my business skills, as a student and an intern. But one part of the job seemed off to me–my official title at Dream Tank was “Creative Expressions Fellow.” I thought this was strange–I was writing the Annual Report, what could possibly be expressed through a report?
Mid-semester, I felt something was missing from myself and my work. I failed one of my business midterms and withdrew from the class. Then it struck me in class one day, as I was doodling away instead of taking notes, that I didn’t belong in business in the traditional sense. I had always been an artistic person. I realized I was meant to fuse the two and bring art into the business world and beyond. That day, I applied to become a Studio Arts minor.
The next week, I looked at that title again, Creative Expressions Fellow, and I knew what needed to be done. I needed to bring creativity and artistic expressions into my Annual Report. I saw the power of Dream Tank in our DreamMakers and within myself, and knew I needed to embody that energy. Thus, I created Fiz, a comic-book inspired mascot for Dream Tank. He would reflect the journey we all would embark on as a part of the Dream Tank experience, just as I had, and transform into his own hero, in whatever form that might be.
I wanted to show that the makings of a “hero” weren’t something found in fantastical tales, but in the everyday courage of an ignited people. This would be a report unlike any other. This would be a report to inspire. A report full of celebration and spirit. A report to remember.
In the report, I reflect on the past year by highlighting particularly shaping events and projects, emphasize our mission and structure, and look to the future with goals and priorities in mind. I wanted to inspire past, present and future DreamMakers and Fellows with the passion of Dream Tank through the lens of Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey, to commemorate the courage it takes to pursue your dreams. I wanted to propose a solution to challenges Dream Tank faces so, like our own DreamMakers, we can find success on our own journey.
Life has a way of directing us along our true path and purpose, and that has definitely happened to me during my time at Dream Tank!
I hope you enjoy my work of art: Dream Tank’s first Annual Report!
Keep Dreaming!
Tessa Piehl
Embark with Fiz the DreamMaker on his journey to find his inner hero and launch his dreams (and his rocket ship!) to the moon and reflect on Dream Tank’s own journey over the year of 2017.
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