College Overview + the Future

In the fall of 2015, I started my freshman year at the University of North Texas in the College of Visual Arts and Design. I moved into Rawlins Hall with a roommate I knew from high school, and I was ready for a new adventure- or so I thought. The summer before I went off to college, I experienced a lot of extreme depression, but I never really talked about it. I bottled it up inside, and by the time I got to college, I was so overwhelmed, and my bottle exploded. I had to take some time off to be in the hospital to better my mental health. At the end of my freshman year, I decided to move back home and take some time off. For two years, I took one or two classes each semester at Tarrant County College, and got all of my basics out of the way. I lived at home and worked as a nanny. In the fall of 2018, I decided to go back to UNT and change my major from Photography to Art Education. Ever since, I have been commuting to UNT and taking Art Ed courses. I am a junior and on track to graduate in 2021. My experience at UNT has been interesting, and I've learned a lot. I only took one art class in high school, and I always liked art, particularly painting, but I was never properly trained. Most people who major in art in college have prior experience or some training. There have been moments where I felt like that has affected my ability to perform well in an art class. For example, in Drawing 1 and 2, I was learning how to draw from the very beginning, when many others had been drawing for years, so I was behind, as far as skill and technique go. This has made some of my classes extra challenging, but overall, I have really enjoyed learning all about art and all it's forms, and I am excited to be able to pass on my knowledge to kids!

Here is me with a few of my sisters and my mom at Family Weekend 2015.

Here is an art activity I lead at work with middle and high schoolers. I took what I learned from my printmaking class and simplified the process and materials. In the future I hope to be teaching art, using a lot of progressive and social reconstructive methods of teaching. I want to be innovative and environmentally friendly with the things I teach and the materials I use. I am still unsure what grade level I would like to teach, but I have always had a heart for elementary schoolers.