Posting Date: October 1, 2009
Meet Elizabeth Richey: Producing art and passing the tradition on to the youth
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Elizabeth Richey
Photograph by Melissa Withers |
By Jonquil Harris
Art education major Elizabeth Richey’s goal is to share her love and appreciation of art with the youth. “I enjoy teaching art,” she says. “I love giving children the experience of actually having art classes because I did not have them as a child.” Elizabeth’s first experiences in art grew out of the tools that were provided to her outside of school; her parents bought her art kits, and she also had an aunt who was an art teacher.
She believes that different age groups offer different benefits when it comes to the teaching of art. “With an older age group, I could prepare them for college,” she says. “In an elementary school setting, the students are still learning so much and I could incorporate art into what they are already learning.” She does not have a preference and says she would enjoy working with any age.
When choosing colleges, Elizabeth discovered that Kennesaw State’s teaching candidates were hired more often than students from other colleges. It also didn’t hurt that her older sister attended KSU. Since enrolling, Elizabeth has received a tremendous amount of influence and support from all of her professors, especially from Professor Ayokunle Odeleye, Assistant Professor Maria Sarmiento and Assistant Professor Donald Robson. “Almost every professor has had an influence not only with my education but also with helping me find my own style in art and in discovering what I would like to do personally.”
Elizabeth has been on the dean's list and president's list every semester. She served as president of the KSU chapter of the National Art Educators Association last school year and has been a member of The National Society of Collegiate Scholars. She has also worked as a summer camp art counselor.
Aside from teaching, Elizabeth also creates her own art. “I really enjoy the three-dimensional aspect of sculpture. I even took a welding class last spring and was able to weld a sculpture of steel.”
Elizabeth hopes to earn her Bachelor of Science degree in art education within the next year. In addition to teaching, she also hopes to have time to dedicate to her own art production and to pursue a graduate degree in fine arts.