On March 6th, 2025, Owens Community College hosted Spark Summit, a successor to the previous years Networking Fair, that brought many facets of Creative and Media Arts to the Toledo Campus.
Spark Summit is organized by the Chair of the Creative Arts and Media (CAM) Department, Jeremy Meier and CAM faculty, along with many leaders in industries around the Toledo-area.
Spark Summit began at 9 AM, with the event being kicked off by Dr. Becca Monteleone, an Assistant Professor of Disability Studies at the University of Toledo. Dr. Monteleone was at Spark Summit to present on Writing Accessibility and Inclusiveness for Diverse Audiences.
Dr. Monteleone spoke about plain language, a way for information to be translated to be understood in the simplest possible way.
After her presentation, she was asked a variety of questions that pertained to her studies.
“I have spent my entire life in performing arts alongside inclusive and accessible performing arts, alongside people particularly with intellectual and developmental disabilities…” she remarked. “And it became really clear in my teens… that our lives were starting to follow a kind of different trajectory, and I was being given opportunities that my friends were not being given, and that made me mad.”
Dr. Monteleone presentation focused on the fact that many of those who are affected by learning or developmental disabilities often get overlooked by others, and they never have an opportunity to thrive.
“The things that I focus on as a researcher are… how do we make knowledge accessible, and who gets to have the authority to have their knowledge taken seriously?”
Dr. Monteleone added at the end that if there was one thing that people should know about when talking about Disability Studies, it is that “Access to information is a part of accessibility.”
Following Dr. Monteleone keynote, other events in the Fine and Performing Arts Building began. One such event was Fused Glass Tiles with Kacey McCreery.
McCreery is an Artist based out of Toledo, where she offers her artistic vision at the Toledo Museum of Art as a Community Engagement Glass Artist.
McCreery began her first of two sessions at 10 AM, with participants being debriefed on how to properly and safely handle glass cutting tools and being offered many different pieces to create small glass tiles that would be fired at the Museum.
(Lucas Sells)
Towards the end of the day, a Networking Simulation Room was open to those who had signed up for time slots weeks prior to the event. Professionals that specialized in Networking were present to help improve participants skills.
The room saw participants partaking in multiple different ways, with some practicing interview skills, while others had their portfolios reviewed.
If you missed this amazing event, don’t worry; Spark Summit will be hosted again in 2027.
