By Steve Beard, creative director

Last week I attended Opportunity Indianapolis, presented by the Lacy Leadership Association. Opportunity Indianapolis is a leadership program designed to give participants an exclusive, behind-the-scenes exploration of our city and significant community issues. I learned almost as much about my city in two days as I have in the 20 years I’ve lived here.

One of the community issues that had a lasting impact on me was the focus on education—we need to make it a number one priority in our city and that needs to happen right now. Mass transit is another issue that the city of Indianapolis needs to solve to serve its growing population and be considered a vibrant city of the future.

The overall message of Opportunity Indianapolis is to get involved. We all need to identify issues we are passionate about and let our voices be heard. Last week got me energized about making a difference in my city, and it also made me realize that I have a lot of work to do.