Maria tries her hand at technology that’s twice as old as she is.
A version of the old bromide serves as a salve: “If you care about someone, it’s OK to be both sad and happy when they leave.” So, when Act 3 designer/producer Maria Ahmad stepped onto the company soapbox to announce she needed to pursue her teaching career full time, all of us were happy and sad.
Happy because Maria is leaving to do what she loves: instructing full time while completing her Master’s thesis at Kent State University and inspiring design students to create work that matters.
But also sad because we will miss having her around the office. Maria joined at a very “interesting time” in the world: March 16, 2020, very early in the pandemic era we still live in today. We met Maria at the elevator, kept a distance from each other during the brief orientation and doc signing at Act 3. Two hours later, Maria was sent home. Like so many other organizations, Act 3 then worked remotely for nearly a year.
In spring of 2021, the wondrous COVID vaccines enabled us to (warily) convene in the office. There, we enjoyed “the full Maria” experience. She brings spirit, creativity, laughter (you need to hear it) and always, a sense of inquiry. “Why is it done this way?” and “This just doesn’t seem right.” Often, there was no good reason not to change and try a different way. Maria was wonderfully right, quite often.
For Act 3, we began the search to bring another creative producer on board who will chart their own path. They will be another great contributor – but of course, not another Maria.
See and hear Maria’s inspiring voice, discovered when she surprised us during a Zoom birthday recognition.
