3 minute read
with the Next Generation: Desiree Ong
Sharing the arts with the next generation
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Desiree Ong
Top Left: Colleen Jennings-Roggensack with Desiree Ong. Desiree is showing off the fact that her photo is actually in the DEAR EVAN HANSEN poster! Top Center: Desiree Ong truely believes #youwillbefound at DEAR EVAN HANSEN. She is a huge fan!
“My focus is on the K through 12 programs,”
Desiree Ong said. “I really love Musical Theater. That’s really BY CATHERINE HATHAWAY what first got me interested in ASU Gammage.” Ong works on educational initiatives such as Camp Broadway, Desiree Ong has always Teaching Artists Program, Performances for Students, High School Musical Theatre Awards, Tech Tours and many more worked to educate children. The exciting opportunities offered by ASU Gammage for K-12 students. Educational Enrichment Program Ong joined the ASU Gammage team in September 2017 after keeping her eye on the ASU Gammage job openings.
Manager at ASU Gammage “ started her career by teaching When this position middle school English for 14 opened up it was so in years. Ong has a masters in line with my education English Education from Columbia background and love University and has a passion for of Broadway that I sharing her love of Broadway and decided to go after it. the arts with others.
“I taught English here in The Valley for seven years at Phoenix Country Day School,” Ong said. “When this position opened up it was so in line with my education background and love of Broadway that I decided to go after it.”
Ong was inspired to purse her career dreams through another one of her passions: Happy Planners.
“It is this combination of using a regular planner and keeping a scrapbook,” Ong explains. “It’s a new trend. There is a whole planner community. I’m a part of a local group of called the Arizona Planner Girls.”
She said the inspirational messages encouraged her to pursue her passions as a career.
“The whole line promotes taking small steps every day with positive messages,” Ong said. “So after reading these for a year and a half, it motivated me to take the risk and go after it.”
Ong loves working on educational programs at ASU Gammage. There’s always a variety of projects for her and Campus & Community Engagement Manager, Amanda Arboleda, to work on for the community. Ong has a passion for each of her projects.
“Our newest program launched this fall is the The Molly Blank Fund Teaching Artists Program. We’re going to take 30 local artists and have national teaching artists train them in the Kennedy Center Arts Integration Method. After that, they will be able to go into schools and implement their lessons they design along with help from the Kennedy Center artists.”
Ong works on these projects all year long so they can be the very best experience for the participants. High School Musical Theatre Awards is a very special event that Ong manages. High schools throughout the Valley register to have their musicals attended by judges. The judges score the high schools and all the participants come back for one special night of awards and performances by the students. “It’s probably our biggest and most time-consuming program,” Ong said. “But very rewarding to celebrate high school musical theater in the Valley.” Ong knows how important these programs are to students. She is the mother of two girls, Ashley (age 17) and Verona (age 3). She loves seeing their reactions whenever they attend a performance or workshop with their mom.
“Ashley enjoys coming with me to these events,” Ong said. “She wouldn’t admit it out loud, but I think she thinks her mom has a pretty cool job.” l
Top center: The ASU Gammage staff celebrate Ong’s birthday • Top right: Ong’s daugher Verona shows off her collection of programs Center: Ong with her husband Wellington Cartell • Bottom Center: Ong with her daughter Ashley and Austin Scott who plays Alexander Hamilton in the National Tour of HAMILTON. • Bottom Right: Ong and Ashley with Nick Cartel who plays Jean Valjean in the National Tour of LES MISERABLES.
