It's official, graduation is a month away from today! I am so excited to be near the end of my journey!! It has been a long road and I couldn't have done it without the love and support of my family and friends, especially my husband Rob. He has been there to push me, offer hugs after tears, feed me and allow me rest. Thank you!
I started back to school in the Spring of 2015 at Austin Community College. I received my American Sign Language studies certification in December of 2016. I spent the next few semesters completing art classes and the remainder of my core studies in preparation for transfer to Texas State University, where I started in the Fall of 2017. In December of 2018 I completed my second Associates at ACC in Studio Art.
During my time at Texas State University I was an active member of NTSO. The Non-Traditional Students Organization. They taught me most everything I needed to know about how to get around campus, where to park, and where to find the best food and drink both on and off campus. I made many great friends in NTSO. We went bowling, threw axes together, ate many meals together in the lounge where we socialized, empathized with each other, provided support and built comradery. We volunteered with Bobcat Build, the largest organized one day volunteer event...really, we made the Guinness Book of World Records more than once! I was awarded a $400. scholarship for my second summer school session from NTSO and was recognized in the Member Spotlight in November of 2020.
NAEA and TAEA are two other organizations that I was an active part of. National Art Education Association and the Texas Art Education Association. After my first year as a member I became the President of the Texas State NAEA student chapter and served two years. I went to Galveston with several students in November of 2019 for a TAEA conference. Dr. Sean Justice asked me and another student to be presenters with him, we talked about SCRATCH and the use of digital technology in art classrooms. It was a great experience. I was planning on going to Minneapolis, MN. for the NAEA national convention in March of 2020, but it was cancelled due to Covid-19. While part of the student chapter we doubled our funds, increased membership and had several guest speakers. We had fun socials, went bowling, and celebrated holidays. I formed some great bonds with my Art Education peers that I hope will last a lifetime. In 2020 I was awarded $1000. the TAEA Memorial Scholarship.
I absolutely loved being an art student. I love studio art and having the freedom to create. I swear one of the things I will miss the most about being in the JCM (Joann Cole Mitte) Building is seeing all the new art pieces freshly created and on display. It is so inspirational!
Painting is my passion. I love acrylic, watercolor and oil. I took all my painting classes from Tommy Fitzpatrick and loved his style of teaching with humor, wisdom and honesty. He doesn't teach technique, but he teaches a lot of art history in his classes. The stories that he told about artists were great. As I continue my life-long learning journey I aim to read many biographies and stories about artists so that I too, can share that kind of knowledge with my students. I loved sculpture and was fascinated by the many things I could create with fire, plasma torches, welding and metal. Wood working was just as powerful, but there is only room for one wood-worker in our household and Mr. Kaylor has that title.
Soft sculpture was a ton of fun; days filled with exploration and play. I made a dress out of film from old VHS tapes, a wall tapestry out of donated bras, dyed and woven together and made tons of paper from the pulp of t-shirts. Very unique and creative experiences. Due to Covid-19 I was never able to take ceramics or screen printing. I will be taking Ceramics this summer at ACC. and plan to take Ceramics II the following summer. I will continue to take classes and hone my skills. Eventually I will add Spanish to my repertoire so I can take the TeXeS Spanish Certification Exam for dual language.
As art education students we don't get to take as many studio classes as regular studio majors, but I swear we get a much better education. The pedagogy (art of teaching) classes that I took were so interesting and continued to cement my belief that this is the right path for me to be on. I read so many great books, articles and studies about educators, teaching styles, classroom philosophies and ways to engage students. It was riveting.
I had many greatest Professors who passionately love and care for their students. I have learned so much from them and have been blessed to been mentored by them. I can't wait to have my own classroom so that I can invite Texas State Art Ed students in to learn how to be great teachers. I believe that our program is the best in the state and I am grateful to have been a part of it.
I was one of two selected out of 414 students as Star Student Teacher for the semester by the Office of Education Preparation. (O.E.P.) in the College of Education.
It's hard to believe that this particular road is coming to an end. I am going to miss being a student, miss the hustle and bustle of campus life and the daily conversations with my peers and professors. I am ready to celebrate. I am ready to step into my next role and I have faith that the right position will present itself. I know that I am not done learning. I still have goals to set and dreams to reach. After I have several years of teaching behind me I will start on my Masters Degree.