FIDM High School Teachers Grant Winner:
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Title:
Graphic Design Teacher/Art
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High School:
Treasure Coast High School, Port Saint Lucie, Florida
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Years in Profession:
First year
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Grant Proposal:
Purchase of the graphic design supplies and hardware in order to galvanize the community and the high school through exhibitions in the local area and businesses showcasing student work created in our graphic arts classes.
The project not only helped realize a vision for me, but helped reach out to students and teachers who knew little about what we did as a department. Everyone was so surprised to see what the students could do, as well as the students and parents, who were equally impressed with their work.
I applied for this grant in order to subsidize my lack of funds. I have high standards for finished work and hoped that I would be able to realize that goal for my students as well. I wanted the work that I demanded from them to be represented in the finished quality, and the printer that I was supplied with… well, didn’t exactly give me that, if you know what I mean.
This grant has really opened several doors for me.
One, my experience as an instructor and as a mentor has been redefined as someone who is able to provide what the industry demands AND what the industry uses to supply that demand.
Secondly, my students get to see their work as portfolio, studio-ready art. Until I had been granted the funds from FIDM, their work was only seen on our class website and not in print. As soon as the funds were provided, the students were more eager to try and impress the class with their work, because they could physically show it off. There is just something about seeing your professionally printed work matted and framed behind a shiny piece of glass that makes it so much sweeter.
My students are aware of where the funds came from. They shared in the experience of a first-year teacher who needed money to make their work an actuality and who could go out and find an answer to his problem with a bit of hard work and determination.
Reflecting on this point, I guess I believe that my students were able to share in a life lesson, among other things.
This has been a very rewarding experience…and I can only say good things about those who helped it happen. Without the financial backing provided by FIDM, the entire Graphik Impakt show could not have happened.
For the week that I was allotted, I developed an annual showcase called Graphik Impakt, that I will be hosting every year (in the hopes that every year it will become larger and more inclusive). I created a website for the show to help advertise, manage, and assess the show’s success: www.graphikimpakt.weebly.com.