I believe the arts have an unparalleled capacity to enact positive social change in any community. As an arts educator, it is my duty to provide the tools and the space necessary for students young and old to create art in this capacity.
CONFIDENCE
My role as an arts educator is to ignite the initial spark in a long chain reaction toward purposeful art making. My immediate goal in the classroom is to create a safe space in which all students feel supported, heard, and confident in their beliefs and abilities. Once this is achieved in educational arts spaces, students are confident and creative as they begin the process of self-expression and individual creation. Self-expression is the first catalyst toward art for social growth.
CONNECTIONS
Once students have the tools and confidence to become art makers, we have laid the groundwork for art as a community builder. As an educator, I aim to foster in each of my students the initiative to take what they learn in educational spaces and go out into their communities, assess their communities' needs, and develop creative solutions to solve them. The arts have the ability to unite people in new and unexpected ways and to open forums for dialogue, and students of the arts are uniquely positioned to synthesize ideas and present a path for the future.
COMMUNITY
​Change does not happen with one person or one artist alone; we need a community to support us in order to propel our artistic missions forward. As an educator, I challenge myself to inspire students to be self-confident and expressive, to encourage them to be community builders and change makers, and to make the world a better place through the exploration of the arts.