Professor Ron Reeder has been a part of Rio Hondo College for many years, first as a student when the campus opened its doors in 1963 and then as professor after receiving his BA and MA from Cal State Fullerton. He has spent the better part of his teaching career as an inspiration to students, instructing them to create with purpose, “All art is created within the time period, the society in which it was made. It’s some kind of commentary on our life … The art is a reflection of how we live.”

On the surface it may seem that it is impossible to make a living in the arts, but instructors like Reeder consistently stress to their students to look beyond what they may consider to be art. There has been an increase in enrollment in the arts, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Reeder attributes the increase in enrollment to the robust industry that caters to art students, specifically in Southern California. “Contemporarily, there are way more possibilities for artists to utilize their skills, particularly where we live. We live in a rich environment. We have animation industries. All movies have post production graphics. We (Rio Hondo College) have one of the best labs in the United States, if not California. Definitely better than most universities. We’ve got terrific teachers that have worked within the industry. We have all this great stuff so that people can learn,” said Reeder.

The 68-year-old professor passionately believes that our society will always need art. Reeder emphasizes that there is no ceiling for what art majors can do in today’s digital world. Everything in our society is influenced in some way through the arts. Something as simple as fashion, the clothes we wear, requires training in the arts. But art education is more than just learning to apply practice to a medium. He believes that the job of education, especially one in the arts, is to create a better citizenry.

Reeder thinks he has several more years at Rio Hondo College. Acknowledging his age, Reeder will continue to teach as long as he can still impact the students that walk into his class. Perhaps more telling of his feeling towards his desire to teach is passion towards art, “You don’t do it because you can, you do it because you can’t not.”