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I'm currently pursuing my Masters in Fine Arts Education at Hofstra
University
Taking New York state certification as an art teacher is really important for me
because it's going to open
a lot of opportunities as far as my prospects for a career one day and I
hope to be teaching in New York City Schools for the rest of my life so
my first exposure to art was probably
from a teacher in high school who actually went through the Hofstra
program that I'm going through now
and she brought me to museums and galleries in New York City and that was
so exciting to me and made me kind of realize that
it was definitely something that I wanted to keep throughout my life
and a be able to bring other students to in the future
my first class at Hofstra was Museums in New York City with Professor Susan Zwirn
and then
it was an amazing course I got to
see museums on the upper East Side
like the MOMA and The Frick and spend time at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art and it was an exciting class where I met
students from other majors as well and we basically
walked throughout the most exciting parts in the city and got to
reflect on the current art and different things that we had seen and
it made me so excited to come to school here. I studied abroad
over the summer in 2013 and I was able to take a cruise throughout the
Mediterranean with Doctor Fusco and Professor Zwirn and a bunch of other
students
and we had such a fun time exploring the different cultures,
we went everywhere from France, Italy to Greece and Turkey
and we had the time of our lives but we also
studied a lot and had a very
unique experience. I made a lot of friends during that one study abroad
trip
which will stay with me for a lifetime and I've also become really close with
my peers
in the program because we're all really working towards the same goal and
and you know we spend a lot of time together on projects and creating lesson
plans so
it's a really close community and that's something that
you don't think you're gonna find in a big school but I have here so
I received a scholarship to Hofstra and I was able to
become a graduate research assistant which has been an amazing opportunity as
well.
As a graduate research assistant I have helped
curate photography exhibits and exhibits of
my peers work around Hagedorn Hall where we study
and I've helped my professor to create
curriculum and to you know enhance the courses
by finding current articles and research
in our field when I'm reaching out to prospective students
I always like to tell them about the opportunities that Hofstra has
given me as far as studying abroad, taking fascinating courses in the city
and also just being within that community of
friends and almost a family that I've made here
and I want them to be a part of it too because
it's been very exciting for me. In our classes we focus on creating effective
lesson plans
and we also are always learning about the new standards that we need to reach
as teachers.
We also have a really great student teaching
opportunities where we are in the schools and as an art educator I always
want to be working
hands-on and that's what student teaching allows me to do
and observing in the classrooms it's a great way to
interact with the students and learn from teachers who have maybe gone
through the program or a different program
but we're all working towards the same goal of learning
what we need to know it to become effective teachers. Because I'm still in
my first year
I feel like I have a lot to learn but my teachers are always
making sure that I'm staying current and
and being in the loop by becoming a member of
like the National Art Educator's Association and
offering me other resources and looking for jobs and
I know myself, I hope to be teaching in New York City schools in the future,
I hope to stay in touch with a lot of people that I've met at Hofstra
and I hope to continue using what I learned
in my museum course in New York City and study abroad
in my future lessons
and hopefully teaching high school.
When I think of Hofstra, I definitely think about opportunity.
I've been able to travel the world,
I've been in the world's greatest museums because of the
the classes that are offered here and
I would highly recommend it to anybody who not only wants to be an art educator
but an educator in general because of our high standards and the way that we
work together.