Coworking is the New Community Center

By Stephanie Evelyn McKellar

A STEM tutor enters the space and prepares to receive three students this afternoon, working their way towards the SAT. A civil engineer enters, picking up her child from dance class. A stained glass artist reclines on the couch, taking a break from repairing and restoring a piece that’s been passed down to his client from four generations back. A graphic designer sits with a client whose shoulders soften as she hears light and life designed into the childhood dream she’s hoping to share with a wider audience. A nonprofit organizes for their upcoming semester, streaking strategy and wisdom across a well-worn whiteboard.

A civil engineer starts volunteering for the STEM tutoring program, sitting weekly with a math student helping them grow study skills and grasp of content. A stained glass artist enjoys lunch with a writer; they share stories back and forth about generational inheritance and the craft of storytelling in their work. A nonprofit director talks podcasts with a digital marketer and copywriter, who ends up helping host and facilitate audio-visual equipment for a fundraiser the nonprofit hosts later that week.

Coworking is the new community center, a place where your work brings you in touch and connection with the rest of your humanity. Share space, not only with coworkers, but with other human beings, and be drawn together by shared passions and exchange of wisdom. You never know when the impulse to sit down to lunch leads you into a deeper encounter with your heritage, where a quick pickup of your daughter from dance class leads you to an opportunity to give back and break the cycle of poverty, or where a printer jam can help inspire you to encounter a new friendship.

At the Mix Coworking space, shared space builds bridges to shared humanity, connections built around shared passion, and opportunities to co-create shared meaning. Join us at themixcoworking.com or stop by 9125 Diceman Dr for a tour.