Partner insight: Our IVEPer really got in the mix

The Mix was excited to partner with MCC this year to host an IVEPer at the organization, unsure of what the experience was to be like. Steps of faith were taken and Placido Messelela was welcomed into the organization and quickly became part of the team. Being that the organization and county was still working through COVID-19 guidelines, the plans that were in place prior to Placido arriving had to shift and change at times.    

Being a partner site and being Placido’s immediate supervisor, I learned quickly that communication was going to be a key factor during this IVEP experience. I learned to not just be flexible in our expectations, but also learned to coach and develop him in the areas that he was interested in. Placido not only brought his love of art to our organization through teaching art to our students and leaving pieces of him behind through his artwork in our building, but he also gained knowledge on what it is that The Mix does and even was interested in learning how he can bring something similar back to Mozambique.              

We would meet daily for brief moments to touch base and discuss what the day would bring, but we would have more intentional meetings to see how things were coming along, how we could continue to be a support for him and to give feedback to each other. As I mentioned in the beginning, communication is key and we were blessed that Placido was willing to share his passion, his home life and his thoughts and emotions with us. Placido quickly became a part of The Mix family, and we cannot wait to for him to take what he has learned and experienced back to Mozambique. We will continue to take with us what he taught us and left behind for us.

Thank you to MCC for inviting us to be a partner site and thank you to Placido for accepting to be part of The Mix.

Header photo caption: Placido Messelela, an IVEPer from Mozambique and Marisol Santos at The Mix in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Mix photo/Joseph Mobley