About

About Me

Hi! I am Carmen Andrea. I am an NYC artist, pottery teacher, and a NYC DOE mathematics high school teacher. I have always loved making art and I believe everyone has a right to express themselves, which is why I think the arts, which includes music, theater and dance, should be funded in schools just as math and reading are. When I was in high school and in junior high school, the orchestra and pottery classes that I was enrolled in kept me sane as I worked really hard to do well in my AP and honor classes. Without those creative outlets, I would not have enjoyed school as much as I did.

I was admitted to the University of Michigan art school.  After one year, I decided to switch majors and I applied to the Ross School of Business so I could learn how to market my art and run a business. Through the business school, I landed a marketing internship at L'Oreal USA in NYC. After completing my internship, I was offered a full-time position post graduation, which I gladly accepted. I worked at L'Oreal almost nine years in brand marketing. In my last role as a director of marketing in the Multicultural Beauty Division, I wore many hats and eventually got burnt out. While I really liked my colleagues and the work, looking back I wish I had  had the courage to leave corporate America much sooner than I did. I did not have balance between work and my life.  In all that time while I worked in corporate America I made three pieces of artwork. I could not focus on my life outside of work and being a mother.

I left corporate American mid 2016 and took a year to focus on my career change and be with my boys. I applied to become a NYC Teaching Fellow and became a high school math teacher while I went to Lehman College at night and earned a Masters in Science in Mathematics Education. During those three years that I went back to college, while I worked full-time as a teacher, my husband was a huge support as he held down the home front.

Becoming a teacher was a tough decision. Not only did it come with a significant pay cut, but the stress and workload rivals corporate America's culture and long hours. However, unlike corporate, a lot of my work is done at home. So even though I spend hours on end lesson planning, grading, and calling parents, I am able to do much of that work at home with my family near me. Once I had a few years under my belt and I finally earned my masters, I felt like I could breathe. Since then I have gone back to school to get my second masters in education administration. I have also changed schools after many years being at one school so I can expand my skills set and still contribute to the local community. I love teaching mathematics and I feel blessed to be able to get up and teach!

I am little by little reopening my creative wings and have started to teach pottery at Uptown Clay. Teaching weekly classes is so much fun! It is rewarding sharing my expertise with the students. I hope to continue to teach and hone my skills as an artists while balancing my work and life as a mother. I plan to study and incorporate my Peruvian heritage into my artwork as well. 

July 2024