“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”

 The Person of the Month Award is given to contributors in the SDC community who use their time, dedication, and talents to help us towards our mission - to empower youth with disabilities. Ivan So, an art instructor at SDC is the Person of the Month for August. Through Ivan’s efforts and art, he continues to encourage all his students to explore their creativity, embrace their diversity, and encourage each other with positive words. Because of this, Ivan has helped create numerous smiles, positive memories, and friendships for a wide range of children who have been apart of the SDC community. 

Ivan was born and grew up as a native in Vancouver. He is working towards completing his education program at UBC and is currently pursuing a career as a high school art teacher. Some hobbies he enjoys doing are, drawing, exercising, and visiting art galleries. His biggest aspiration is to exhibit his artwork internationally in order to educate others on topics such as LGBTQ+ rights, environmental justice, and inclusivity.

Despite Ivan being an art instructor at SDC for only a year, he has inspired many students and created bonds with them. As well as teaching diverse groups of students who enjoy and adore art. Including guiding his students to express themselves in art. SDC also helps validate Ivan’s passion to pursue teaching as a career as he also encourages all his students to explore their creativity, embrace their diversity and encourage each other with positive words. Ivan’s fondest memory at SDC is seeing the excitement on student’s faces when they finish an art piece that’s also allowing them to see endless possibilities in their future art pieces.

Ivan’s method of teaching allows students to embrace their individuality and discover their love for art. Through creativity, alternative techniques and modification, the students that Ivan teaches are able to add a personal touch to their art. His commitment to making art accessible for all individuals helps create an outstanding learning environment that is diverse and welcoming. 

During the year as an art instructor at SDC, Ivan has built a community that sparks enthusiasm toward arts in addition to making art accessible for individuals regardless of their identity through creativity, alternative techniques, and modification. Although there were many obstacles in running these classes effectively online, this did not stop Ivan from staying motivated to take advantage of these difficult situations to acknowledge the positive qualities from virtual classes. Ivan wishes to acknowledge all of the different voices that deserves to be heard and understood by continuing his journey at SDC to help the community he has helped to build. Thank you Ivan for your hardwork and consistent dedication to the SDC family!