Laura Crotte

Laura Crotte was one of the heroes I got the chance to work with. Laura is a very kind woman who is really passionate about what she does. She’s the type of woman that enjoys doing the same thing, but most of those things involve arts and culture. Laura came from a town in Mexico that there wasn't many opportunities for her while growing up. She went to an all girls school in Mexico and there wasn't much of arts in her school for her to participate in. Yes, there were workshops that she participated in but nothing like an actual class that she chose to pick as an elective. Laura is really passionate about what she does. If there is anything that has art and culture involved I'm pretty sure you’ll see her involved in it.

One of the things that Laura does in her community is art. Not the type of art that you grab a paintbrush and paint, but the type of art that you perform and have millions of people see you. In her interview she said, “Today I have an event outdoors, it’s something in Humboldt Park lagoon. There’s a parade happening.” Apart from that Laura goes to schools that don't provide Art as part of the curriculum to students and teaches them about the importance of art. Connecting to her providing art as an extra curriculum, she does workshops that help people learn art and the different cultures they can learn.

Another thing about Laura Crotte is that she really enjoys performing in front of people.  To some people that’s just something they can't do, but to her it’s something that she’s really passionate about and nothing can stop her. She loves learning about different cultures as well as she loves teaching them in her performances. In her interview Laura was asked what was one of her favorite parts of what she does and she said, “Well, getting to know people, it’s like a large amount of connections. I think that’s something powerful and something young people don't get that seriously, but getting to know people from different places eventually will be so helpful in the future.” Laura is able to connect social justice in a way that she thinks that the system and our government  has given us too much individualism and that if anything bad happens in our community, we prefer to stay quiet instead of speaking up and making a change for our own community.  

One of Laura’s heroes as a child was a nun from the school she went to in Mexico. The nun was a person that actually introduced her to the arts industry. The nun was her hero, not only because she introduced her to the arts industry but because the nun was the person who led her step by step and gave her the advice to keep on with that. Another person that was her hero was her mother. Her mother was her hero because her mother was always there for her and supported her through her decisions in the arts industry. Laura’s work has lead her to many success in her life.

A success that Laura had in her community was that she worked through the Illinois Arts Council where she worked with teachers, students, staff members, etc.  After 6 months of her working with the Illinois Arts Council, she would do a big project that involved the teachers, students and staff members in the community. Those are really good successes because it’s important to have as many people from your community involved as much as possible.

From interviewing Laura Crotte, I learned that she’s the type of women that is really involved in what she loves. I also learned that from her coming from a town that didn’t have any arts to learn from, she made it big and actually followed her dreams. Laura is a very interesting woman and she really goes for what she wants and doesn’t let anything stop her. It was a pleasure interviewing Laura Crotte.  I found out that in order to chase something you really are passionate you have to start from the very bottom, even if it means that you don't know anything about it. She really opened my eyes when it comes down to making decisions and actually wanting to make a career of what you love, not something you think you love.