Thank you to some of my favorite teachers.

Written By Frances Yllana

I put this site together, and now I realize, I need to write a thank you letter, too. To give thanks, yes. But also, to show what a letter of gratitude could look like in a way that would encourage people to feel confident in their ability to share their thanks to someone or something in a way that would do that someone or something justice.

If I were to try to eloquently encapsulate the sum of my thanks to any one of the people or things, I don’t think I’d ever really be ready to hit “share”. If I were to pick the perfect person or thing to thank, from all the people and things I have to be thankful for, I’d never get any words written.

So this morning, after debating over my cereal who or what would receive the first real thank you on this site, I emptied my head as well as I could, and what stood out was the most common denominator for who I’m most thankful to, was their role in my life as a teacher. I don’t have to write a novel or ode, or chapter or anything too special. I just have to say thanks, and the universe, I hope, will take care of the rest.

Thank you to:

  1. My art teacher in third grade who encouraged me to enter one of my pieces into a district contest, and when it won a prize, it was when my parents (and I) started calling me an artist.

  2. Susan Fixler, my eighth grade English teacher who read my book report on Jonathan Livingston Seagull to every class for years after I graduated eighth grade. For my report, I rewrote the story in first person. That was when we started calling me a writer.

  3. Marcus Dickerson, my publication design professor, first creative director and my biggest mentor. He is when I started believing in myself as a designer.

  4. Eric Ligon, who I never had as a professor. But he did bring me back to my alma mater to teach classes that made me a better teacher, creative director and advocate for young talent.

  5. Adam Fry-Pierce, who led the DesignOps Assembly Learning Labs Emerging Leaders cohort, and Meredith Black, DOA founder, who helped amplify my voice in the world of DesignOps.

Thank you for being teachers, advocates and inspirations.

Yours truly,

Frances Yllana

Frances Yllana
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