Stephanie’s Biography

I am a Utah native who attended elementary and junior high school in Davis County. I then moved to the outskirts of Harrisonburg, Virginia, and finished public schooling at Spotswood High School.  Following High School, I acquired an Associate's degree in business management from Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cave, VA.  Then went on to earn a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts Education and Teacher's Certification from Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ.  I worked full-time throughout my time in college and graduated Cum Laude from both institutions.

As part of the art education teaching program at Arizona State University, I completed two practicums. One practicum was at a middle school for 2D and 3D visual art; the other was at a high school in the ceramics department.  My student teaching occurred at a Phoenix inner-city school, where I worked with middle-school-aged students and taught various studio art.  The students at this school, more often than not, faced the perils of gangs, poverty, and language barriers.  At this school, I refined my abilities to communicate visually and build a framework to teach students of varying skills despite any learning obstacles my students faced. 

Following Arizona State University, I taught art for 1st through 8th-grade students in Peoria, AZ.  As the only visual art teacher in the school, I wrote and carried out numerous visual art lesson plans for all grade levels.  During my three years at this school, I carefully accumulated works of art created by students for school and district art shows.   In addition to my duties as an art teacher, I co-taught a Drama class with the Music teacher so that the Jr. High grades could have another elective option.  

I then went on to work as a sign artist in the art department at Trader Joe’s at four different locations.  I created artwork and managed the art departments at 3 locations during this time.  The art was primarily dedicated to the in-store marketing of various products, holidays, and promotions. I enjoyed incredible artistic freedom by infusing my aesthetics, ideas, and techniques into this work.  This went so far as to be able to create various large sculptures for displays made out of multiple mediums.  

I wanted to return to my birthplace and the academic arena, so I moved back to the State of Utah. While obtaining my Utah Secondary Teaching License with a Visual Arts K-12 endorsement, I worked as a substitute teacher in the Davis County School District. This experience was valuable, as it enhanced my repertoire as a teacher by instructing all grade levels in multiple subjects.    

With my Utah teaching credentials and diverse experience, I jumped at the unique opportunity to teach 2D/3D visual art at a Residential Treatment Center in Utah County. In this position, I worked with secondary-aged students as they progressed through their treatment programs.  

I now work as a BTSALP visual arts educator in Ogden City School District, serving K-6 students. In this role, arts instruction is primarily guided by enhancing core content area learning that the students are undertaking in their classrooms. Subjects such as Math, Science, and Language Arts are extended into Visual Arts lessons containing subject matter and vocabulary. Additionally, during my time in this district, I obtained my ESL endorsement to serve my English Language Learning students' needs better.  

I teach secondary visual art at North Davis Junior High (N.D.J.H.) in Davis County School District and work with Title I students. While at N.D.J.H., I have developed, delivered, and assessed the following curriculums in and out of the Canvas LMS: Art Foundations I & II, 2D & 3D Design, and Ceramics. Here, I have honed Universal Design for Learning (UDL) strategies and flipped classroom techniques to meet the needs of diverse learners.

Outside of teaching, I regularly create art to build upon my skills by continuing studio art production and large landscape painting.  This keeps my creative mind active as I strive to strengthen my art skills.  An extension of this is my desire to expand my knowledge and experience by completing my graduate school journey at the University of Utah for a master’s in Fine Arts Teaching Degree.