About Me (1/1)

I graduated from Bowdoin College in 2008 with a degree in Visual Arts and Art History.  After college I went right on to Teach for America.  I applied to be an art teacher, was trained to teach Kindergarten, and got placed as a 5th grade teacher on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.  My two years teaching in South Dakota were some of the most challenging and rewarding years of my life.  I was the only 5th grade teacher in the school and I had my class of 27 students from 7:30am to 4:30pm, often without an aide or any specials.  Our principal required that we teach only reading and math, but I made a point to incorporate as much art and creativity into my lessons as I could.  I even snuck in the occasional science, history, or art lesson when my principal wasn't looking.  After Teach for America I took some time off to hike the entire Appalachian Trail, a 2,181 mile footpath that extends from Georgia to Maine.  I documented my journey through two blogs and a drawing each day.  For the past five years I have been working as a scenic painter and prop fabricator at The Specialists Ltd in New York City.  Our company is committed to staying on the cutting edge of fabrication and I have had the opportunity to work with laser-cutters, vinyl cutters, and UV printers on a regular basis.  In my spare time I have experimented with Arduino microcontrollers and 3D modeling programs but I still have a lot more to learn.  I am very excited to be furthering my education at Columbia Teachers College, and I plan on spending as much time in the Thingspace and Myers Media Art Studios as possible.