More than 50 students, faculty, and community members attended the reception for the powerful ‘Resilience’ exhibit, now on display at CCC. Courtesy photo.
FLAGSTAFF — Noel Swimmer, a criminology student at Coconino Community College, was inspired to find out that resilience is not something that is done alone.
She was among 50 students, faculty and community members at the opening reception for “Resilience: Women in Flagstaff’s Past and Present” on Tuesday, Feb. 18 at the CCC Lone Tree campus.
The Resilience exhibit is a collaborative project by the Arizona Historical Society’s Pioneer Museum and the Martin-Springer Institute at Northern Arizona University. The exhibit shares the stories of Flagstaff women who face extraordinary challenges and overcame hardships, painful legacies and adverse environments. The roving exhibit has been displayed at other locations in the city.
The exhibit will be on display at CCC through the months of February and March and will be displayed during Black History Month and Women’s History Month.
During the CCC opening reception, Flagstaff Mayor Coral Evans was the featured guest speaker and introduced the exhibit as “an exhibit that shares the powerful stories of 20 women.”
Featured guests introduced by CCC President Colleen Smith included Rhoda Abeshaus and Eunice Nicks, both of whom are showcased in the exhibit.
Mayor Evans is also featured in the exhibit, and she expanded on her story during her speech at the opening reception. Mayor Evans grew up in low-income housing in Flagstaff, and eventually battled and beat breast cancer at the time of running for mayor. She said she would not have gotten where she is today without an extensive support system.
“Resiliency is not something that is gained overnight,” Evans said. “And resiliency is not gained in isolation.”
Swimmer said she felt especially encouraged by Mayor Evans’ message at the reception, saying that resilience is not an individual act, but takes support from the community and those close to us. Noel said she learned that it isn’t about one person, but “pillars of a bunch of people that happens with time.”
Mayor Evans concluded the ceremony, saying, “When you go forward and you look at this exhibit, take it to heart…I encourage you to enjoy the exhibit, because if anything, resiliency is about the joy of life, about overcoming obstacles, about being in the moment, and about making sure you’re going to make it a better place than you found it.”
You can find out more about the women of Flagstaff who showed resilience by viewing the exhibit, which is set up in the Commons. The extended exhibit with donated artifacts can be viewed at the Museum of Northern Arizona, where students can get in free of charge with a student identification.