Alumni Spotlight
Michaela Brady, BFA Art Education
Student at VCU: 2006-2010
Ya'a t'eeh! Greetings from the "rez!"
In order to picture the town of Many Farms Arizona, one must simply think of an area completely opposite of the city of Richmond. We have exactly one intersection, two gas stations, one post office, and a Navajo Chapter House. The only traffic is when a herd of wild horses or sheep tries to cross the street, and the nearest Wal*Mart is two hours away. If you spin in a 360 degree circle, all you see are hoguns, tumble weeds, dirt, and a giant red mesa lining the valley as far as the eye can see.
As for the students of Many Farms Boarding High School, they are like any other typical American teenager. They are required to take biology and algebra. They attend football games on Friday nights, and love having a good time with their peers. However, unlike most schools in the United States, because the school is operated by the Bureau of Indian Education and is located in the heart of Navajo (Dine) Nation, there are many curriculum differences as well. Instead of French, Spanish, and German, students take Navajo I and II, and instead of having a variety of American history or European history classes, students are required to take a semester of Native Culture and a semester of Native Government. Because of the desire to continue "native" education, I not only teach Art Fundamentals, but Native American Art as well. Even though there are many opportunities here, many difficulties plague the "rez" schools as well. For one, parent involvement is very low due to extreme poverty, technology is practically non-existent in the classroom, and art in many schools is only offered once in the student's entire school career because of low funding. Many of the teachers teaching for the BIE have been teaching for many years, and there is a strong desire to bring in young teachers with fresh ideas.
But, regardless of any difficulties, I am having the time of my life and teaching some of the most talented students I have ever met! One particularly exciting thing about many of my students is that they come from families where in every generation there is an artist of some sort, whether they are a potter, jewelry maker, weaver, etc. My students are currently working on an environment themed project, where they are reducing, reusing, and recycling, by making found object sculptures of indigenous plants and animals to northern Arizona. They are doing an AMAZING job, and are finally pushing themselves to try something new and create something unique.
I encourage anyone who would be interested in teaching with the Bureau of Indian Education to apply immediately. We are in need of excellent teachers in all subjects, and the experience is worth it. When I am not teaching, I am hiking in the local Canyon de Chelly, reliving the old westerns at Monument Valley, or enjoying a night out in the nearby mountain towns like Flagstaff, AZ or Cortez, CO. When I am at home, I hang out with the dormitory students watching movies or playing basketball and hanging out with my rez cat Edvard Munch.
If you or anyone you know would be interested in a reservation teaching position, feel free to e-mail or call me!
Go Rams!
Michaela Brady
VCU Art Education 2010
Art Teacher
Many Farms High School
PO Box 307
Many Farms, AZ 86538
724-355-9053
Alumni Profiles
Della Watkins, MAE Art Education
Student at VCU: 1994-1996
Current Employment: Associate Director of Education & Statewide Partnerships, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA
What was one of your best experiences while you were part of the Department of Art Education?
I enjoyed interacting with VCU art education and art history faculty. They were professional, knowledgeable, inspirational, and caring.
How did the Department of Art Education prepare you for your job now?
The Art Ed Department encouraged me to take on meaningful independent projects. One such project lead me into museum education!
What do you most enjoy about being an art educator?
I worked eleven years in Virginia public school art classrooms and loved every minute interacting with children. Now, I enjoy working with museum visitors of all ages as I facilitate their understanding and delight of each original work of art.
What role does your art making practice play in your teaching?
Aside from my great love of reading and art historical research, I am an occasional painter and dapple in collage. Each medium helps me better understand technique, style, purpose and subject so that I might help others identify subtleties in processes; recognize cultural variations, and content nuances.
What advice would you give to someone that wants to teach art?
Be sure you have a passion for art and a strong desire to communicate that passion in articulate, accurate, fresh, and engaging ways.
Jacquelyn Pascucci, BFA Art Education
Student at VCU: Fall 2003 - Spring 2007
Current Employment: Art & Photography Teacher at Hanover High School
How did the Department of Art Education prepare you for your job now?
I don't know if I could have been more prepared! I had so much in-classroom experience before I graduated that transitioning from student to teacher was absolutely no problem.
What do you most enjoy about being an art educator?
My students, no question. I love getting to know them and watching them grow personally and artistically.
What advice would you give to someone that wants to teach art?
Be absolutely sure you LOVE both art AND teaching. Loving my students and my job makes my life so wonderful!
Whittni Brown-Abdullah, BFA Art Education, BA in International Studies
Current Employment: Elementary Art Teacher
What was one of your best experiences while you were part of the Department of Art Education?
Presenting a lesson plan at the VAEA conference for VCU as a student teacher. I was presenting, and I hadn't even graduated yet! I feel that the faculty showed great faith in me to select me to present to practicing art educators. I felt that I was actually a part of a professional community.
What do you most enjoy about being an art educator?
I enjoy teaching and learning from the kids. They are very loving and I get to share THE WORLD with them. As an art educator, I get to expose them to many different cultures, intelligences, and fields of thought, and I get to connect to everything they already know. There are no limits except the ones we place on ourselves!