Mount Vernon, Iowa | Meet Nina Scott

Welcome to Mount Vernon, Iowa. With a population of approximately 4,506 (via a 2010 census), Mount Vernon can be described as “small-town.” That certainly isn’t an insult, though, as this town is packed with fun and friendly people, great businesses, and tons of activities.

I’ve had the privilege over the past (nearly) five years to get to know Nina Scott. Nina is the most kind and warm-hearted person I’ve met while living in Mount Vernon. She was my welcoming committee to Mount Vernon and she has taken the time to visit me on multiple occasions, almost always initiates our visits, and even likes to have the kids over to play to help give me a break. She has one of the most inclusive and warm spirits I’ve met.

I sat down with Nina last week because I wanted to share her with all of you. She graciously agreed to have the spotlight and didn’t complain during the hour and a half that I grilled her. Then, when I messed up the photos I took, she came back over so that I could take more. That’s how patient she is. She also tried to teach me how to use my camera better, but all mistakes in these photos are certainly mine. Enough about that, though, let’s learn about Nina.

Creativity

Nina is an incredibly creative person. In the time that I have known her, she has had multiple ways of making a living. Nina has had a successful photography studio (which recently closed), a consignment shop, an organization business, and commissioned artwork. When I asked Nina how to describe herself, then, it was no surprise to me that she would say creative first. She also advised that she likes variety in life, but she does pay attention to time and detail. She summarized it by saying she is scheduled, but not routine. Nina mentioned that she likes to talk about subjects in-depth with people and have discussions about important things. She’s not a confrontational person – in fact, she has always listened when I go off on some tangent about my beliefs which sometimes are completely opposite her own and she does it without judging me. She enjoys listening to different view points and loves answering questions without hesitation or judgment. This is just one of the many reasons why I respect and admire her.

After we stopped laughing, Nina started telling me more about her story. Nina began her adult life with no desire to become married or have children – she wanted to be a famous architect. She went to school and graduated with her degree and then she realized that she wasn’t happy with who she was. The field was largely about self-promotion and egos and Nina decided that wasn’t the best way to showcase her creativity in this world. One marriage and six kids later, she states that while she didn’t become a famous architect, she is very happy with how her life has turned out and she is glad she didn’t “get her way.”

Nina recently decided to close her photography studio so that she could spend more time with her family. Her current projects include the Mount Vernon/Lisbon adult community theatre where she performs and also paints the sets, the Lisbon – Mount Vernon Flea Market committee (the flea market is held once per month in Lisbon), and helping with the First Street Community Center. She works at her business In Place (an organization company), as a standardized patient at the University of Iowa, and also with her commissioned artwork. The background in the photos we took is her work – I commissioned Nina to paint a fantasy-related mural on the wall of my children’s playroom. See tomorrow’s post for more pictures!

Baha’i Faith and the move to Mount Vernon

Nina and her husband, Gary, had been living in Vermont for three years and Pittsburgh for two years when they decided that they wanted to move back to Iowa. Gary was in the process of looking for a new job and Nina knew that she wanted to live in a small town. They conferred with the Baha’i community and learned that the town of Mount Vernon, a small college town in eastern Iowa, had plenty of college-aged Baha’i, but the town did not have any permanent residents of the Baha’i community. Nina and Gary did some research and decided that Mount Vernon was the place to be. In the years since, Nina states that she has not regretted that and instead feels “very blessed that we were guided to live in Mount Vernon.”

You see, Nina grew up as part of the Christian faith, but at some point she decided to focus on the Baha’i faith which has core beliefs that include inclusiveness, moderation, balance, and to be in service to others. Prior to meeting Nina several years ago, I hadn’t heard of the Baha’i faith. Since I met her, we have had multiple thought-provoking conversations on the subject. Because Nina believes whole-heartedly in the concept of being in service, when she asked the community where she was needed, she really listened.

Children’s Classes

Approximately one year ago, I learned that Nina offers classes for children that focus on helping them learn core values such as justice and honesty. Although our children are being taught under the Catholic faith, I have always felt that having a broad understanding of religions is necessary. Therefore, I spoke with Nina about her classes. She told me that the classes aren’t about indoctrination into the Baha’i faith and that the topics discussed are not mutually exclusive from any other religion. I felt pretty happy with what she was offering and my children have been in her weekly classes now for months.

This past week we discussed this concept again and she informed me that the Baha’i faith was created around the idea that all religions are progressions from God and therefore are all completely valid. As time has gone on, the religions have morphed as God’s teachings have changed. As the child grows and requires new and different teachers, so too does the world. Nina stated she does not believe in negating any faith, and as such her children’s classes are not about converting children to be Baha’i or away from their religion, but instead are her service to our community in building healthy relationships between children as they discuss moral virtues, do projects, and complete activities. If you are interested in talking about the children’s program with Nina, please get into contact with her.

For the Future

I asked Nina what her plans were for the future. First, she reassured me that she has no intentions of leaving Mount Vernon (thank goodness!). She explained that while Mount Vernon may not be ethnically diverse, it is creatively diverse. She added that there are philosophers, professors, artists, scientists and all these people lend a richness to this town; people really care about this town.

Sound familiar? I asked Scott Rose a similar question and he answered similarly: “‘I really like this place; there is world-class talent that has chosen to come back or chosen to come here and stay.’ [...]He also stated that there is a ton of potential in Mount Vernon and that with even just one to two determined people, a lot can get accomplished. I asked if we had at least one to two determined people and he replied that we have ‘a ton.’”

Nina advised that she would like to start giving art lessons and form an art academy with like-minded people that would have interaction between various artists with a goal to encourage art in the community. Nina stated, echoing Gusteau in the children’s film Ratatouille, “Everyone is an artist.” Nina went on to state that she believes that most art is really about practice and education and not about an innate skill. She wishes to encourage more people to believe they are artists and explore the possibilities.

Nina would also like to move into doing more artwork. She’s currently working on illustrations for a Baha’i book. If you are interested in having Nina do any artwork for you, look below for her contact information!

Want to contact Nina?

• Connect with her via Facebook
• E-mail her at info@inplacenow.com
• Call her via (319) 270-9230

Want more information on Mount Vernon?

• Visit MVL/ Mount Vernon Lisbon Community Development Group
• City of Mount Vernon, Iowa
• Mount Vernon and Lisbon Sun
• Cornell College’s About Mount Vernon