Welcome, Stephen!
UW Madison senior Stephen Goodhart is interning with Create Wisconsin this year. Anne and Stephen sat down recently to talk about his interests, thoughts about interning with this organization, and plans for the future.
Intro: Hi! My name is Stephen Goodhart. I grew up in Sheboygan. I was raised in a household where the arts were our greatest form of expression. As I step out of my comfort zone, I have a greater reverence for the creativity that lives inside all of us. I believe we all have a story to tell. A story that recalls our deepest struggles and highest hopes. A story that can foster and encourage an authentic community. I have a passion for what brings a community together. Once I complete my studies at UW- Madison, I hope to work with nonprofits and social justice organizations. I believe change happens at the grassroots level. To change a person’s life, is to invite them to become exactly who they are meant to be. I look forward to spending my senior year at Create Wisconsin as an intern and look to the future of what we can do to foster community in the places we live and create.
Anne: Tell us your story.
Stephen: Well, as I said in my little introduction, I’m a Midwest boy from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. I grew up around a lot of creative people. My mother owned her own business and started a nonprofit when I was little and I saw her creativity everywhere. From finding new ways to engage the public to being innovative around building a small business in an apartment, my mother has been a great teacher in how to navigate life. Beyond her, I was raised by a small group of single moms. In these spaces, I was allowed to be whatever I wanted to be and I grew a passion for community building and creative living. In high school, I got really into performing. I am a singer and was in choir and musical performance during my time there. Since then, I have been in a bit of a limbo with my creative spirit. I’m not sure what’s next, but I know I want to be creative in my work. I think that that’s part of the journey. Being in limbo and trying to find the next phase of life is just part of the human experience. As humans, we are all creative. Sometimes we find ourselves overflowing with creative thinking and other times creativity takes a backseat. Right now, I am focusing on my studies at UW-Madison and learning a lot about what I like and what I don’t like. I will graduate next year in Political Science.
Anne: Tell us about your family. How many siblings do you have?
Stephen: I have two brothers. They’re both older. My mother has taught me almost everything I know. How to care for the less fortunate, how to organize a community through her nonprofit, even how to throw a party! There was nothing too rambunctious, but every year during the holiday season we would invite any and everyone. Our house would be packed with people from all different walks of life. It was in these moments that I knew gathering is what I needed to do with my life. Especially gathering people who may never see eye-to-eye, but nevertheless needed each other at that moment to either break bread or team up for a heated group game. It’s in these moments where our shared humanity is displayed. Our need to be a part of something greater than ourselves.
Anne: What do you want to do when you grow up?
Stephen: That’s a complicated question. I think not just one thing. I want to look back at my life and remember all the different kinds of lives I’ve interacted with. Corporate America, to small business entrepreneurs, to artists, to anybody with a story (which is everyone). I want to have a career that reflects that journey. I’d like to be in leadership positions for the very cause to promote change in our lives, but also our society. I find organizational development fascinating and find myself continually distracted by the inner workings of a system in my daily life. I want to be in a field that encourages others to tell their true stories and fosters a gathering place for community.
Anne: Tell us more about that. What do you want your work to look like?
Stephen: Well, I want my work to look like the people I encounter. I’m collecting little snippets of what I want for the future, for my future. It always comes down to relationships. I want to be a leader somewhere, and I want to allow others to tell their stories in a meaningful way. The more we talk, the more I realize that creativity has always lived in me, it’s just waiting to be expressed. I think that’s true of everyone.
Anne: Why are you interested in working with Create Wisconsin?
Stephen: I’m looking to foster community. That’s my primary goal in life. I think the creative arts and
creative-thinking pushes me to dig deeper. You know, I’ve spent a long while out of organizations. As of late, there has been a new horizon for discovering my identity as a human being. Over the past four years, I’ve learned, I’ve failed, I’ve realized and what I’ve realized that is most true, is that we are all here for connection. From rural communities to big metropolises, everyone is looking for the same thing: to be seen.
I believe Create Wisconsin cultivates the capacity to reach beyond the ordinary. I think we are very special in that we advocate for deeper experiences in the places we live. How do we make Wisconsin a place to live and travel? And in that, how do we support our local artists and inspire creativity within all of us? That’s the work I want to be a part of.
Anne: What have you learned so far in your journey with us?
Stephen: Listening to the inner workings of this conglomerate of a network, I’ve learned that I’ve got a lot to learn! I hope I can be of service to the cause. And I wish that my being here will leave a mark on Create Wisconsin reflecting back our mission and vision; cultivating a creative environment with those we engage with but also advocating for a more creativity-centered conversation in the economy.
