The Art of Communication

Feb 27, 2023

If life is a blank canvas, there are many colors on the paint palette of Xavier alumna Adoria Maxberry (’09).

Maxberry is an artist, teacher, activist and scholar. She is a Christian, mother, wife and daughter.

She is Black. Despite life circumstances that would leave many blue, she remains an unbridled source of joy and optimism for others, naturally carrying a bright, sunny disposition.

For all that she is and the many hats she wears, Maxberry brings every facet of herself into the work she does, for the service of God and those around her.

A Musketeer Through and Through

Maxberry always knew she wanted to attend Xavier.

Growing up on the upper east side of Cincinnati roughly 10 minutes from campus, Maxberry became familiar with the university from an early age.

Her mother, Linda Ricks (MEd ’00), graduated from Xavier and spoke fondly of her experience.

“I remember going on campus with my mom and feeling like this environment is a place that I want to be,” Maxberry recalled. “The way that the professors cared for their students was something that pulled me into Xavier. It was my first choice.”

A track athlete and cheerleader at Walnut Hills High School, Maxberry cheered for Xavier her second year of college while she pursued Athletic Training as a major. She commuted to campus because her family lived so close by, and she still found a way to stay involved on campus through the Black Student Association, the African Student Association and Xavier’s Gospel Choir while working off campus.
 
Maxberry’s college experience took a sudden turn toward the end of her sophomore year. She sustained a serious tailbone injury while cheerleading. That injury ended her athletics career and left her searching for answers.

“After getting injured, it was kind of like switching gears,” Maxberry said. “I said, ‘OK God, where is my purpose?’ After reflecting and conversing with my parents, I realized that communication is a gift of mine. It’s something I love and enjoy.”

Maxberry saw the abrupt end of her athletic career as a signal for a new direction. She cut her hair, declared Communications as her new major and rededicated herself to her other extracurricular activities: gospel choir and the campus Christian affinity group, Students Committed to Christ. 

The final two years of Xavier proved more fulfilling than the first two for Maxberry.

Maxberry and her high school classmate, Bryan Maxberry – whom she first met in elementary school – began dating her sophomore year and welcomed their first child into the world during the final semester of her senior year.

Maxberry earned her bachelor’s degree in Communications Arts from Xavier in 2009.

"As a PR major, those times working through crisis communications (in class) prepared me for where I am now." Adoria Maxberry

Maxberry left Xavier ready to pursue a career in communications despite graduating during a recession. What she did not realize upon graduating is that her faith – which grew as she experienced adversity throughout college – would be instrumental in helping her cope with the unimaginable loss of both parents a little more than a decade later.

Her Mother’s Daughter

Linda Ricks was about as steady as they come. Maxberry described her mother as a reserved high achiever with a lifelong passion for education. She was a career educator who dedicated her life to the growth and development of elementary school children.

Maxberry had always admired her mother, especially from an early age. When her mom taught second grade students at Woodford Paideia Elementary School, Maxberry found her way into the classroom to tutor students alongside her – as an 8-year-old third grader.

Even as an adult, Maxberry always turned to her mother for advice – be it on college, careers or relationships.

“I have a wonderful mom,” Maxberry said. “And her mom was amazing. I come from a long line of awesome moms.”

In 2020, after an emergency gallbladder removal surgery, Ricks was diagnosed with cancer. This came months after Maxberry’s father, James Ricks, had already received his own cancer diagnosis. Both parents were in the hospital at the same time battling for their lives.

Maxberry was finalizing her master’s degree and licensure to become a teacher when news of her mother’s cancer diagnosis broke. She revised her final thesis from her mother’s bedside while serving as her caregiver, along with her brother, in the days leading up to her passing.

“My professors told me I should take a break, but my mom told me we would finish this,” Maxberry said.

Ricks lived long enough to see her daughter earn her Master of Visual Arts Education degree. Maxberry graduated with a 4.0 GPA in May of 2020. Her mother passed away just four months later.

While caregiving for her mother, she was also a primary caregiver for her grandmother who was 101 years old. Her grandmother succumbed to illness related to COVID-19 and passed away at the beginning of the following year.

“It was my faith that helped me get through,” Maxberry said. “It was knowing that God wouldn’t put me through anything he hasn’t prepared me for. He would not take them from me until I was prepared to live without them.”

Maxberry’s special relationship with her mother colored her relationship with her own children. Today, Maxberry has three children: two daughters – Addison (14) and Charlie (3) – along with one son, Bryan (9).

“Motherhood is something I’ve always dreamed of,” Maxberry said. “I’ve had a great family, so I’ve always had this idea of what it would be like. Each child has changed my life in an amazing way.”

Communication Through Art

The way Maxberry remembers it, it all started with a children’s birthday party.

Maxberry’s daughter Addison had just turned six, so she taught Addison and her friends how to create their own artwork during an arts-themed celebration.

Other parents took notice.

“Parents told me how much their children enjoyed it and asked me if I would do this for them,” Maxberry said. “That idea stayed with me and kept ruminating in my mind.”

Maxberry had always been creatively inclined. She credited an art class taught by Xavier professor Kitty Uetz for keeping fiber art at the forefront of her mind, even after she graduated from college.

While working full-time for Fifth Third Bank, in 2016, Maxberry started her own arts company, Most OutGROWing. Most OutGROWing is an organization focused on helping others grow through the arts.

“Art is a form of communication,” Maxberry said. “Artistic creativity is the means for us to express ourselves, both individually and collectively. Visual, written and expressive forms of art are our way of connecting as people.”

Most OutGROWing flourished through referrals. Maxberry expanded her business beyond private events to include art instruction for students of all ages. The skills she gained while working on her bachelor’s degree in communications transitioned seamlessly to teaching, which coincided with the passion for education instilled in her from her mother.

Maxberry went full-time with Most OutGROWing in 2016. Her company was the impetus for her desire to gain her master’s degree in art education, which she went on to do in 2020.

An Artist and Advocate for Others

Today, Maxberry continues to work at Most OutGROWing while teaching art to elementary school students at her mother's old school, Woodford Paideia Academy. As a Woodford Paideia alumna and the daughter of a Woodford teacher, Maxberry said the role means the world to her. She teaches in the same position previously held by her elementary art teacher, Karen Linser.

Inside and outside the classroom, Maxberry uses art as a communication medium to share messages of hope, social justice and love. 
 
This past year, for example, Maxberry returned to Xavier to design a memorial bench which honored Black lives lost due to racial violence and systemic oppression. In developing the artistic concept for the bench, Maxberry insisted on stylistically incorporating the names of roughly 300 individuals who lost their lives to racial oppression into the design.

“It’s disappointing that the bench had to be created, but it provides hope that we have a brighter future,” Maxberry said. “While creating the piece, it really made me think about the names and how many there were. It was a very sobering experience.”

The memorial bench project began in 2021 under the direction of Pastor Justin West and the Fred Shuttlesworth Leadership Team in the Center for Faith & Justice. It was created in response to feedback from Xavier students who called for a space where they could silently reflect on the community’s current standing and where they want to go from here.

“Adoria has been amazing,” said Ivy Banks, Xavier’s vice president for institutional diversity and inclusion. “Her work ensures social justice is part of our life. It’s been an amazing partnership.”

Maxberry has created nearly a dozen murals and other artwork for community spaces throughout Cincinnati. Each piece she creates afford her with an opportunity to share a story – share a message of hope and inspiration to those she may never meet.

“Leaving a legacy is a really important thing,” Maxberry said. “We build a legacy and we honor those who came before us. I want to make sure I’m a mom my kids can be proud of and hopefully, one day, surpass.”