Years after earning two associate degrees, in music and theater, from Howard Community College, Janelle Broderick now serves as director of the college’s Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center.

Broderick, 43, went on to complete her bachelor of arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies: Administrative Science and American Studies from the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

She considers herself an honorary Marylander, since she’s lived here for about 24 years. She left her hometown of Naperville, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 1999 and never looked back.

During her time as a student at Howard Community College, Broderick met her now-husband, Aaron. Twenty years later the couple has three daughters in middle school who appreciate the arts in their own ways, Broderick says.

“Our home is full of music and storytelling,” she said. “We love the Howard County community for the opportunities it offers to residents of all ages, especially young families.”

When she is not working, Broderick is an active member of the music ministry at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Glenwood and enjoys directing and performing when time allows.

We asked her a few questions about her time at the college, the importance of theater education and what upcoming productions to look out for at HCC.

I’ve been fortunate to spend the majority of my career at HCC. I worked part-time during my years as a student and have been a full-time staff member for 20 years this fall. The position of facility manager was offered to me when the Horowitz Center opened in 2006, and my role has grown alongside our programs over the years. As director of the Horowitz Center, I have the pleasure of working collaboratively with our resident producers, as well as our campus and community partners, to cultivate an engaging season of arts and culture experiences for students and community members. In addition to arts events, a number of college and community meetings, conferences and fundraisers are held at the Horowitz Center. Like most administrators, my role involves budget management, grant writing, scheduling and collaboration with our public relations and marketing team. Ultimately, I see my position as one of support – leading our operations team in coordinating the needs of roughly 250 events each year. I’m privileged to work with a fantastic team of technical theatre and audience services professionals who work to ensure the Horowitz Center is a place where students, faculty, staff, guest artists and community members enjoy their experience, whether that be on stage, backstage or in the audience.

As a part-time employee at HCC, I worked in the college’s music lab, hosted gallery receptions, acted as a summer camp counselor for summer theatre camp and worked as a stage manager and house manager. Those experiences prepared me to understand each of the areas that the Horowitz Center supports in a uniquely intimate way before ground even broke on the Horowitz Center. Outside of HCC, I held a variety of other jobs, but I credit my year at Walt Disney World in Orlando for a cornerstone of my approach to our work here. It was this experience that taught me the importance of prioritizing the guest experience. As an educational institution, our guests include students, faculty, staff and community patrons and their experience with us is not limited to the time they spend in the galleries or the theatres. As a center, we have the opportunity to shape their experience from the first moment they come into contact with us, whether that’s on a phone call, in our lobby or through our website. It’s with this mindset that I approach each day and each challenge – how do we ensure a positive experience for all stakeholders?

Some of my favorite memories are from my time as a student at HCC and that’s one reason I believe in the importance of what we do. I know firsthand the impact we can have on students’ lives and it’s an honor to play even a small part of providing that opportunity for others. Credit goes to the fantastic faculty at HCC for the academic foundations and hands-on learning opportunities they offer to students. It’s such a joy to hear from students who have gone on to achieve their educational and professional dreams and express that they were inspired by their HCC faculty or guest artist mentor. I’m also touched by comments from patrons who say they were moved by or learned from a performance. Some of my favorite moments are post-show conversations between patrons. When a patron attends a play that explores a challenging topic and expresses that they, “never thought about it that way,” I feel we’ve perhaps helped to educate. When a patron exits the recital hall in tears because they were moved by the beauty of music, I think, “that’s what we’re here for.”

Most importantly, we want people to know that the Horowitz Center exists and that we are here for everyone in the community. As an educational and production venue, the Horowitz Center offers community members the opportunity to engage with the arts as patrons and as students. Home to three performance venues and two art galleries, we welcomed over 30,000 guests to our venues last season, and we have room for more. Through a combination of resident and partnership programming, our 2023-2024 season features performances and exhibitions for audiences of all ages, showcasing the work of students as well as regionally and nationally recognized artists. Our two galleries are open daily 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. with no admission, and parking is always free.

Institutions of higher education embrace the exchange of ideas in pursuit of deeper understanding; the visual and performing arts offer a unique way of approaching that pursuit – through storytelling and the sharing of various art forms. Whether in a gallery or in a performance venue, audiences are invited into a world where they can view another’s experience through a new lens. Patrons may leave with an appreciation for a new genre of music or a fresh perspective on lived experiences that are different from their own. By presenting exhibits, concerts, lectures, ceremonies and plays representing a diverse range of human stories, we provide an environment where guests may expand their understanding of humanity.

We have some very exciting events this year. Later this month, our Concert Series is presenting a guest artist concert featuring traditional Indonesian music and dance. That concert takes place in Monteabaro Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 27. The following month, our theatre program incorporates Indonesian movement and percussion in an adaptation of the classic play “Medea.” That production runs Nov. 16-19 in The Rouse Company Foundation Studio Theatre. The weekend prior to that, Nov. 10 and 11, our annual Dance Showcase will feature the work of students, faculty, and guest artists in Smith Theatre. In February, our galleries welcome back Linnea Poole a Baltimore-based visual artist whose multi-media work depicts notions of identity. That exhibition will run Jan. 15-March 22. We have even more events this fall and spring, so check out our website for updates. www.howardcc.edu/horowitzcenter.

Arts education can enrich the development of students in innumerable ways. Students who take music, theatre and dance classes gain confidence in front of an audience and the skill of public presentation is transferable to any future career. Rooted in storytelling, visual and performing arts training also helps students build a capacity to see the world through another’s eyes, which leads them toward healthy relationships with others, personally and professionally. Much like team sports, the practice of the arts is an inherently collaborative processes, which creates future generations of leaders who can appreciate a variety of perspectives leading to valuable decision-making in the workplace. The benefits go on and on.

The Horowitz Center at HCC exists at the intersection of the arts and education, two industries that traditionally rely on gathering, which was exactly what we couldn’t do during the pandemic. 2020 hit us hard, but I was inspired by the energy and creativity of our faculty and staff to adapt. Like many institutions, we pivoted to online courses and livestream productions. We also introduced an online art gallery experience. We learned that we had the capacity to reach audiences who couldn’t otherwise reach us in person. Following the pandemic, we’ve chosen to continue some of the virtual offerings that work well in that format.

There are so many choices right in our backyard, it’s hard to choose. If I’m venturing out of the Howard County area, my go-to is Woolly Mammoth Theatre in D.C. There’s nothing I love more than to enter a venue with no expectations and to experience a new story. At Woolly Mammoth, I know I’ll see something I’ve never seen before.