Name: Brandon Irwin
Graduation Year: 2004
Major: Art and Education
Current Position: Art Teacher at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School
City and State: Washington D.C.
Tell us about your career and what you do now.
I’ve served in various professional roles from middle school and high school art teaching to administration, instructional coaching, and professional development. I currently teach art at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in DC. I use academic breaks for international mission and adventure.
What did you enjoy most during your time at Evangel?
I’m extremely grateful for my time at Evangel. It is rare to have high-caliber professors who care about student success after the semester grades have been entered. I have also been blessed with so many great friends and memories. I also enjoyed working with Bridges for Youth, an after-school youth center. I worked there for 4 years while at EU and have been a partner for 20 years now. I loved bringing energetic neighborhood kids to campus for basketball games and to church. That was a catalyst for me to add education to my art major. I also had a great experience in South Africa as a junior and I’ve been back a handful of times. It ignited serious wanderlust and I’m hooked on the global commission.
How did your experience at Evangel prepare you for life after graduation?
The foundations from Evangel have equipped me to navigate cultural currents and to always attempt excellent work. We are strategically placed in spaces so we can be the light and speak life and order into chaotic times. Heavenly Father has prepared good works for us to do. He already knows the place and times for us to shine.
What advice would you give a current student preparing for the workforce?
First, I encourage students to be the light off campus while you are at EU. North Springfield has no shortage of opportunities to serve people.
Secondly, develop a growth mindset. Don’t limit yourself or our abundant Heavenly Father. You can learn and improve at anything he calls you to with smart goals and dedicated practice. Envision and pray for big things. Also ask for wisdom to carry them out. We don’t rise to the level of our goals, we fall to the level of our systems and routines. Be strategic about how you pursue dreams. Although I’m grateful for career successes and for earning a master’s degree in painting, I have so much to learn and achieve educationally and artistically. I’ve learned from successes and failures that reaching my goals depends on the size of my prayers and adherence to a plan.
Lastly, seek Holy Spirit. “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (Acts 19:2 NIV). “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses…” (Acts 1:8). This is true today. So is the creative anointing on artists as described in Exodus. I used to wonder why there was a gap, or so I perceived, between the powerful lives in the NT and what we saw today. But over the years, increasingly yielded to the Holy Spirit, I’ve seen many breakthroughs in the lives of people I’ve encountered. Earnestly desire closeness with the Spirit and ask for the good works and awesome gifts specifically designed for you to bless people.