By Rebekah Black

Rebekah Black is a self-taught artist who enjoys numerous types of art including sculpture, colored pencil, and painting. She graduated from Colorado State University-Pueblo with a bachelor's of arts in applied mathematics and French. She continued her STEM education with numerous master's level classes in molecular biology, microbiology, and organic chemistry while completing research for a NASA funded project about life surviving in extreme environments. Rebekah has taught reading and math at James Madison Elementary School in District 11, taught art in District 49 elementary schools, and has worked for the Colorado Department of Higher Education through their GEARUP Program at Mitchell High School in District 11, where she prepared low-income high school students to enter and succeed in postsecondary education.

Rebekah's petite butterfly, "Moments of Wonder" is inspired by that occasion when, if we are lucky, the world reveals a true moment of wonder. She wanted to illustrate two of those moments in this piece. Sea turtles act as guardians of the coral reefs, keeping them healthy so the numerous other species living amongst the reefs are also healthy. This benefits the oceans, as well as humanity. Viewing a sea turtle swim overhead is an awe-inspiring event. Yet, in the future, these moments may disappear, along with the turtles. Humanity has the opportunity to help protect sea turtles right now, allowing them to keep protecting the coral reefs, and us to behold moments of wonder like these for years to come.

She has been involved in Flight, now Wings of Change, for nine years, and she completely believes in the program. She has created four large butterflies, eight petite butterflies, and two dragonflies. She has been lucky enough to have had a front row seat at some of the schools that received funds to see the wonderful projects and learning that has resulted. As a STEAM student herself, she knows how important it is to spark an interest in students at a young age, so that children get the confidence and excitement that will stay with them through their lives. It is crucial that children nurture both their analytical and creative sides in order to solve the problems that our world is facing. These problems will not be solved by just one area of thinking, but through a combination of many different areas with many different perspectives. She believes that it is of the utmost importance for our community to have programs such as Wings of Change to support the arts and sciences for our deserving students.