What started as an opportunity to learn a new skill turned into a chance for six local veterans to connect, share experiences, and build friendships at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria.
The veterans enrolled in the college's Image Transfers from Photographs class through Community Education, where they used personal photographs, including images from their military service, to create original pieces of art.
For Shevonne Harris, who served six years in the Army, finding opportunities to connect with other veterans after leaving the military wasn't always easy.
“Several years after I got out of the military, I didn’t do anything military, nothing. I just wasn't really finding anything offered,” Harris said.
Harris and her classmate Terri Shirley said the class gave them an opportunity to meet and connect with other women veterans who shared similar experiences.
Instructor Dr. Helen Boursier, who served two and a half years in the Navy as a journalist, said students representing four different military branches came together to share stories about their service, including where they were stationed.
The students also used their creativity to honor their military experiences. Projects included gesso image transfers, decorative tiles, and ornaments featuring messages such as, “I am not most girls, I am a veteran.”
One student's ornament project inspired other women in the class to create their own, turning an individual art project into a shared experience.
Boursier said the projects became about more than learning a new art technique. They gave students an opportunity to recognize the experiences they had in common and the challenges they faced while serving.
“We’ve walked similar ground, and shared similar experiences, breaking the ground for women serving in male environments, so that really is the solidarity,” Boursier said.
Mike Boursier, the only male veteran in the class and Dr. Boursier's husband, said he also appreciated the opportunity to meet other veterans, including someone who had served in the Coast Guard.
For Harris, some of the most meaningful connections made in the classroom have continued outside of it.
“In the class, I met some more people who now we are hanging out more,” Harris said.
She said those new friendships have also encouraged them to welcome other veterans and let them know there are places where they can find support and connection, such as She Raised Her Hand.
“We’re just trying to bring everybody in and let them know there is some place that they can come and they can feel like they're at home,” Harris said.
Boursier said Allan Hancock College Community Education plans to offer additional art classes, including photography, next spring and summer. The classes will be open to the public and you don't have to be a veteran to enroll.
