We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful JoMaureen Koko Darpolor. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with JoMaureen Koko below.

JoMaureen Koko, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I moved to Round Rock, TX in June of 2021. What many don’t know is I leased my new apartment and resigned from my position in West Texas BEFORE landing a new teaching position.

For years, I had felt a calling to the Austin area. I was about to enter my freshman year of high school, the first time I can remember traveling to this area. Although I was out here for volleyball camp, I remember being more excited about seeing all of the art. Exploring Austin was like exploring an outdoor art gallery with no connecting theme other than this phrase that seemed to be everywhere I turned. “Keep Austin Weird”. As someone who grew up embracing being different at an early age, that phrase found a home in my mind and from that moment on, any time I was asked where I could see myself moving if I stayed in Texas, Austin was always the answer.

As years went by and I had childhood friends who moved to and from the Austin area share their experiences with me, I knew that there was something special here for me that I would one day be blessed with an opportunity to encounter for myself.

Many years later, after attending college in California for fashion design and moving back home to West Texas to teach, I began to hear a calling to this area again to advance my art career. As an elementary gen ed teacher, I had enjoyed teaching my campus’s after-school GT art program for two years but it was like the best part of my week was a clear indication that there was just so much more I needed to do. This unsettling feeling of not using my fashion design degree and teaching art full-time pushed me to study for and obtain my art certification to teach any grade level in Texas’s public school system. As much as I loved my elementary babies, I knew that there was a greater purpose for me in teaching students who were already creating professional portfolios in hopes of making a career out of their passion for art.

In the spring of 2021, I decided it was time to take some huge risks. Not only was I using that season of my life to launch my very first clothing brand, but I set out to launch myself into a brand new city. I applied for multiple teaching jobs, most of them art, in Austin and its surrounding areas. Surprisingly, I refrained from applying to Round Rock even though it was my ideal location to teach, especially because that is where I wanted to live. A coworker from Georgetown, TX, whom I worked with at the time, heard about my planned transition and asked why I had not applied to Round Rock ISD. I explained to him that I felt like becoming an art teacher in the Austin, TX area was competitive enough and that expecting to land an art teaching position in my dream district my first year in the area would probably be a stretch. He encouraged me to apply anyway and to see what happens. I reluctantly went on Round Rock’s job openings portal and found more options than I had predicted for secondary art teaching positions. Although teaching high school was my goal, I applied to a couple of middle schools for my back-up options.

While applying for jobs, I was simultaneously virtually touring apartment complexes and applying for the most ideal ones in Round Rock. The idea was to secure a home because between this nagging feeling in my gut that kept saying “MOVE” and God using people to speak the answers to the prayers I had been asking him during that time, I knew that whether I immediately received a job offer or If I had to find multiple part-time positions upon moving here, the move was going to happen regardless. I also had grown comfortable with the idea of possibly having a long morning commute if I was offered a position in another district.

After making up my mind and signing my lease in Round Rock, within less than a week’s timespan, I had been scheduled for my first interview and received an offer the following day for an art teacher at a middle school that was a 9-minute drive away from the apartment I had just leased a few days before.

Fast forward three years later. After teaching middle school for one year, I was able to get transferred to a high school in the same district to teach my first love of visual arts. Only two months into teaching high school Drawing, I was offered the CTE fashion design instructor position without even knowing my school offered that course, let alone, was looking for a teacher with my exact background and experience.

JoMaureen Koko, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As mentioned before, I went to college for fashion design, which is one art form I have been passionate about since primary, elementary school. Although I majored in fashion design, I have explored, studied, and enjoyed many forms of art since some of my first memories.

I consider myself multifaceted because I have both personally and professionally painted; created custom logos and concept designs digitally; photographed events, family portraits, maternity shoots, professional headshots, brand content, etc.; ghost-written resumes to copy editing linked in bios/professional emails; and of course, designed and created custom-made garments.

Those are a few of the creative services I have provided over the years but I am sure there are many more I can add to the list.

As also mentioned before, in 2021, along with the risk I took of moving, I also launched my very first clothing brand a month prior. JKDJournals is a positive affirmation clothing brand that believes any story has the power to become a winning narrative when you intentionally feed yourself winning thoughts. Through a combination of my love for writing, fashion, and art, I have managed to create a brand that resonates with a community of people who appreciate authenticity in words and designs as they experience JKDJournals’ original and inspiring content and products.

Specifically in the Austin area, my business JKDexterity offers clients the ability to collaborate on photography projects where I turn their special moments into memories that will last a lifetime as well as create eye-captivating content that encompasses their character and their brand to attract new customers, clients, and opportunities on their own professional endeavors.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, the most rewarding part of being an artist is the versatility that I am allowed to express. Art serves so many purposes from healing to marketing to just giving you something absolutely beautiful to admire. I have been blessed to experience it all. Art has put food on my table and been food to my soul. I wholeheartedly believe that God has used art to save my life on more than just one occasion by providing me the outlet I need to find my way back and even evolve into a better version of myself.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

As an entrepreneur and a constantly evolving human being, books have become my best friend. I have read so many that I feel like I have way too many “favorites” to share them all but I will share two books that when you first approach their covers, you may not believe can be equally loved by the same person and yet, I love them both.

The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy is a read worth every page that I enjoyed so much, I bought multiple copies and sent them to my friends and family because I felt like I sitting on the most obvious yet profound knowledge to ever exist.

Now, as an adult, I have never really been much of a fiction reader. However, almost eight years ago, I was gifted a book that helped me remember that fiction stories can be just as powerful as nonfiction. The Alchemist is probably a book many people have heard of but I am sure fewer have taken the time to read… and revisit because it is that good! I don’t want to give away any spoilers about this but It was a story that truly impacted the way I view the journey of life and success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jkdjournals.com/
• Instagram: @jkdjournals @jkdlaboratory @koko_d7 @jkdexterity
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jkdjournals
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkdexterity/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/jkdjournals
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jkdsvideodiaries8233
• Other: Photography: http://www.jkdexterity.com/photography-menu.html

Image Credits
@jkdexterity