Bethel Fall-2017-Magazine

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Fall 2017
Michelle (Ferris) FitzGerald ’09 is not what you would call a
traditional teacher. Yes, she spent four years teaching middle
school students in South Bend Community Schools and had once
imagined herself educating students in other countries. But a
few years ago, the strong desire to find herself as an artist led her
to explore new art forms and eventually open a business where
she could grow her own skills, while supporting others to do the
same. Make South Bend was founded on the idea of educating
people, while helping them build confidence and self-esteem.
“It felt like our artists were secluded and neglected. I wanted to
see a community of supportive, collaborating artists and makers
who would encourage and challenge each other to be better,”
says FitzGerald.
In the community of River Park (just down the street from
Bethel), FitzGerald teaches classes, hires experts to teach, and
opens up new experiences to students young and old.
Her studio perpetuates the ideology of the Maker Movement –
encouraging and empowering people to make anything – and is
evident in her classes that range from textiles to 3D printing. She
also rents private studio space to artists.
Raised in a creative home, FitzGerald says her business idea
came after sketching jewelry and needing a way to laser cut
designs into wood. In that moment, she realized others might
have the same need for shared space and equipment.
Beyond fulfilling her desire to create and teach, her endeavor
helps her live out
her life statement,
written in the class of
Associate Professor
of Communication
Elizabeth McLaughlin,
Ph.D.: “To create
and restore dignity
in others, through
love, service and
education.”
While she accomplished this as a schoolteacher, her business
enables her to reach more people of all ages.
An English major at Bethel, she served as a tutor in the writing
center, and as editor for The Beacon. As she was considering
pursuing TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other
Languages), she did a semester abroad trip to the Dominican
Republic. Placed at an art school, she witnessed firsthand how art,
education and evangelism can meld.
This idea of using art to reach people for Jesus was appealing
and something FitzGerald carried with her when she established
Make South Bend.
“I can serve people
and give them
valuable skills and
be part of their lives,
just by having this
space and continuing
to meet with them.
This is a way I can do
ministry.”
She and her husband, Nat FitzGerald ’09 (Christian Ministries),
feel called to stay in South Bend. He is the worship leader at
Northpoint Vineyard Church, which the couple helped plant four
years ago.
From the study abroad experience and her other travels, she
has come to appreciate her hometown.
“Most importantly, it reinforced to me that you can serve in
your community and love where you are.”
For the future, FitzGerald plans to build on her original vision
of creating a space for connections to happen and hopes to
welcome more people in her newly expanded class space, or to
the retail space featuring the work of more than 30 local artists.
“When I quit my job teaching, it was definitely a step of faith
and I didn’t know what I would do, but there was peace around it –
so I felt like God was in that,” she says. “I really think as I look back,
there were a lot of things that kept us going – and I can’t explain
it – but God had His hand on it somehow.”
“I can serve people and give them valuable
skills and be part of their lives, just by having
this space and continuing to meet with them.
This is a way I can do ministry.”