WILL, Western Institute for Lifelong Learning starts its fall 2018 Lunch and Learn Series on Sept. 12 and runs thru Oct. 17. All presentations will be held at the WNMU Global Resource Center building from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. every Wednesday. Presentations are free and open to the public.

On September 19, Dr. Christina Sanchez Volatier will provide a presentation titled "The Social Context When Creating Artwork" for the Lunch and Learn Series at WNMU. As the second presenter of the Lunch and Learn Series, Dr. Sanchez Volatier is also starting her second year at WNMU where she is Assistant Professor of Sociology. In her presentation she will talk about the creativity in each of us and our being open to risk. She says that artists tell her that the process frees them of immediate expectations, allowing them to let creativity happen. They become risk takers. Her research among artists demonstrated that artists' mind-sets and thought processes allow them to not follow a conventional path but return to a childlike playfulness. Dr. Sanchez Volatier says "Creativity is common place but you have to practice showing up. Everybody has the ability to be creative or can get into a creative mindset."

Growing up, Dr. Sanchez Volatier was always encouraged to follow her expanding curiosity and passion for history. At first, she thought her place was as a history teacher, but her studies eventually lead her to relate to society on a larger scale and she ultimately settled on Sociology. Dr. Christina Sanchez Volatier grew up in San Diego, California; then received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Miami, in Florida. In the meantime she had a connection to our own Silver City, her grandparents graduated from WNMU in the 1950s. There is even a picture of her grandmother, Julia Yturralez, hanging at the University. The 1955 - 1956 Westernette group photograph is hanging in the Brancheau PE Complex.

WILL's Lunch and Learn Series runs every Wednesday from Sept. 12 to Oct. 17 from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. They are free and open to the public. Come join us and bring a lunch and a friend.

Other Presenters and Topics for Will's fall Lunch and Learn programs:

Sept. 12 — Dr. Jack Crocker: "Some Rock and Roll and a Little Poetry"
Sept. 19 — Dr. Christina Sanchez Volatier : "The Social Context When Creating Artwork"
Sept. 26 — Darlene Colmar: "Understanding Canine Communication Through Calming Signals"
Oct. 3 — Dr. Ann Hedlund: "Romance or Reality? Navajo Indian Weavers as Seen Through Vintage Postcards, 1880-1980"
Oct. 10 — Diana Ingalls Leyba: "Engaging Our Youth in the Community: The MRAC Youth Mural Program"
Oct. 17 — Dr. Joseph Shepard: "A Dialogue with Dr. Joseph Shepard, President of WNMU"