On October 26, 2012, Marcos Stafne and David Bowles spent their last day on staff at the Rubin Museum of Art as Director of Education and Visitor Experience and Manager of School Programs, respectively. In the last two weeks, we’ve survived a hurricane, a full week of power outage, a nor’easter, and worst of all, the enormous void left in the aftermath of Marcos and David’s departure. We, as members of the Education and Visitor Experience departments, have spent the last week reminiscing about those two, wondering how they’re doing in their new positions elsewhere, honoring their previous work here as we make it our own, and hoping they miss us as much as we miss them. It’s a strange and wonderful thing when you appreciate your colleagues not only for their work, but also for their friendship.
And in honor of them both, here is our list:
Top Ten Things We Learned from Marcos and David
1. Think BIG!
You can always edit down as needed.
2. Be available to your colleagues, no matter how big or small the issue.
Relationships are built first, so that issues can be reasonably dealt with later.
David and Pauline
3. When you’re the boss, you can make a big deal about your birthday.
July 8 is the most important day of the year.
4. Ask clarifying questions.
5. Always come back to your passion.
6. Staff morale is a top priority.
Cookie parties are crucial on Friday afternoons.
7. Silence is Golden
When giving a tour, let the visitors do the talking.
8. Be ready to play when the time is right.
Vital for new learning and long meetings
Marcos Stafne, Ph.D
9. Respect systems and structure, and know when to let them go.
10. Always bring it back to Twilight. In the end, follow your heart.
The Education Center dishwashers are named Jacob, Edward, and Bella.
Signed,
The Education and Visitor Experience Staff
Rubin Museum of Art
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