Edupreneur Spotlight: Sparkle Morton

 
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Check out our interview with Sparkle Morton, the Founder of SM Design Studio in Atlanta, GA.

How and why did you become an educator? Narrate your path for us.

I always wanted to be in education, so I went to college for Music Education to be a High School Chorus Teacher. After attending college at Howard University I moved to Atlanta where an old classmate reached out to me looking to hire a theater teacher at KIPP. I wasn’t planning on taking the offer, so instead I referred other people for the job. A few days later, I found out that my referrals weren’t available so I inquired about the job description. I instantly realized that I could do this job and do it well. As soon as I said that, everything moved like the speed of lightning. I was told to have three lesson plans and materials ready for an interview the very next day. I must admit that I thrive in last minute situations, so  I made the lesson plans overnight and taught them the next day. My interview consisted of administrators sitting in on my three lesson plans. I received great reviews, and realized that I loved teaching! This is what I wanted to do. It felt like I had finally found my calling. I got the job, and they wanted me to start immediately. I had another job at the time, but I decided to leave and start working at KIPP the following week. This was my first teaching job, and I stayed because I realized how much of an impact I was making on the kids. Introducing them to all aspects of theater, fostering collaboration, and teaching critical thinking by allowing them to creatively express themselves through the artform is the reason why I continue to teach. 

What inspired you to start SM Design Studio? 

I was inspired by the encouragement of family and friends. I have been blessed with many talents, and adapt quickly to anything creative. I wanted to use all of my skills and put them under an umbrella, and that's where the idea stemmed from. SM Design Studio isn't just focused on custom crafts and apparel, in time it will expand into a studio for my Xpression Theater youth program, podcasts, and a small event venue for all things creative. I’ve learned that in these times it’s important to have a brand or company that you own. Something under your belt that you can build a legacy with. 

What do you envision for SM Design Studio in five years?

In 5 years we will be a fully functioning company, still in the beginning stages, but at that point, the birth of all the components like the youth theater and podcast studio will be up and running. 

If you could wave a magic wand and fix one thing about education immediately what would you fix.

I would wave my wand and fix the loss of creativity and engagement in the education system. I would fix the problem plaguing enrichment teachers in schools. Over the last ten years I have been able to build a respectable enrichment program within my school community, however it’s a constant battle for most of us to have our contents respected, properly managed, and funded. I dream of the day where the educational system realizes that to truly teach and develop the whole child, you have to bring fine arts to the table and not just to sit there, but to have their voices heard. Magic happens when you align creativity with learning. It’s what we do everyday, but most often goes unnoticed because the educational system has trained us to value and prioritize core academic classes. Where is the equity in that? I want everyone to support and value the arts. If you apply any component of Fine Arts to any academic content, the class will be engaging, the content will be learned faster, and scholars will retain the information because they learned it in a creative way. I am passionate about kids learning through creativity so much that I encourage my scholars to explore beyond just acting because there is so much more to the art form. There's not a lot of black faces behind the scenes in creative spaces like producing, technical production, editing, filming or directing. My magic wand would expose children to these kinds of careers so they know that they are attainable to them as well.

What’s been the hardest part of starting something new? 

Thinking that it’s easy at the start, and then soon figuring out that there are so many components to even begin what you want to do. It drives me crazy. Also, not knowing where to reach out for resources and not fully understanding all that goes into starting a business of your own can be overwhelming. Again, it drives me crazy, in a good way though. I have learned to give myself grace. I'm very indecisive about all of the little things. So it’s been very challenging to settle on certain decisions, because when branding as a business you realize you can’t keep switching things up, consistency matters.

What advice would you give to educators who have a passion & talent that could become profitable and want to act on it, but are fearful? 

I would tell them that whatever is telling you to stop, dead it. Block those negative voices that bring fear and doubt to the forefront. Out of fear of the unknown we start to doubt ourselves, and it stops us from doing the things that we know we can achieve. But out of that doubt, we don’t even try to start them. We have all been there, so embrace mistakes while honoring the fact that you have to try to even make them. Not everyone has it all together, even though it may look like that from the outside. So, operate and work in that fear. You will grow so much, and gain that confidence that you need to succeed. The gold and treasure are behind the fear.

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