Interests, Skills, and Values

I’m a passionate artist and lifelong learner who finds joy in creativity, connection, and care. I love working with my hands, painting, printmaking, experimenting with collage, or exploring fiber arts. My personal work often explores identity, storytelling, and cultural memory, and these themes naturally inform my teaching practice.

As an educator, I’m especially drawn to hands-on, process-based media like Gelli printing, weaving, and collage techniques that encourage students to experiment, take creative risks, and explore new ways of expressing themselves. I value empathy, equity, and imagination, and I aim to build classroom environments where students feel a strong sense of belonging and creative freedom.

My strengths are building meaningful relationships with students, designing inclusive lessons for diverse learning needs, and creating opportunities for personal connection through art. Art can be a powerful tool for reflection, confidence, and self-expression, and I want every student to leave knowing their creativity matters.

"I don’t just teach art, I teach students how to see themselves through it."

Life Experiences That Shaped Me

One of the most significant influences on my development as an educator has been my grandmother, who dedicated 13 years to teaching in the Head Start Early Childhood Education Program and spent over 30 years serving the Indianapolis Urban League. Her lifelong commitment to supporting children and families through education and community work left a lasting impact on me. But most importantly, she was my first teacher—my earliest art teacher, academic mentor, and guide.

She taught me how to read, write, and create well before I entered a formal classroom setting. Our time together was filled with experiential learning: we constructed cardboard silhouettes, dyed eggs, sculpted with natural materials, and painted with found objects. Her home was rich with art books, creative materials, and educational programming—especially The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross, which we watched and followed regularly. Our frequent bike rides to local museums and community art fairs became informal “field trips” that expanded my understanding of creativity, culture, and curiosity.

She consistently nurtured my creative interests and modeled the power of hands-on learning, compassionate teaching, and meaningful connection. Observing her dedication helped me understand how education, when rooted in love, equity, and imagination, can be truly transformative.

I’ve also been shaped by incredible mentors like Professor Winship, who pushed me to grow as an artist and thinker, and Stephanie Robertson, who helped me recognize my own leadership. Their belief in me confirmed what I now know to be true: I’m meant to be in the classroom. Lastly, artists and educators like Martin Vanzant and Hector René Del Campo reminded me that art doesn’t have to be conventional to be meaningful. They taught me to embrace my voice, my heritage, and my way of seeing the world.

Professional Goals

During college, my goal is to continue developing a teaching style that reflects who I am, one that is inclusive, flexible, and rooted in care. I plan to keep building my skills in classroom management, lesson design, and culturally responsive teaching while gaining experience in various K–12 school settings. I’m especially interested in creating interdisciplinary projects that blend art with storytelling, history, identity, and lived experience.

I also want to explore different cultural art forms and materials in my lessons, helping students connect their work to global traditions and perspectives. By weaving in what students learn in other subjects like history, language arts, or social studies, I hope to deepen their understanding and make their art more meaningful and connected to the world around them.

Looking ahead, I hope to teach in diverse schools, particularly in underrepresented or underserved communities. I want to create an art classroom that feels like a second home, where students are encouraged to take creative risks, explore who they are, and celebrate what makes them unique. My ultimate goal is for every student to leave my class knowing their voice matters, their art has meaning, and their ideas are worth sharing.

As I continue this journey, I carry my story with pride, just like I’ll encourage my future students to do.

“In my classroom, art bridges identity, culture, and learning across every subject.”