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Caroline Stearns fell in love with teaching when she started tutoring children in an after-school program. When she came to college, she knew she wanted to combine that new love with her oldest love: art.

“I’ve always loved art,” she Caroline said. “Art is a place for imagination, and I love to live in my imagination.”

And that’s why she chose to major in art education at the �������Ƶ. She’s loved every part of the program so far.

“There are a lot of things to love about being an art education major,” she said. “Every professor I’ve had has been amazing! I have loved my drawing classes! All of my classmates have been great and the classes I have taken have been a perfect fit for me.”

In her visual arts classes, Caroline has worked with multiple media types, including charcoal, pencil and pen, ceramics, and wood.

“I had never taken any formal art classes, which was super intimidating going in,” she said. “It still is sometimes, knowing that a lot of people are already pretty advanced. But once you get started, the teachers are so helpful and you get so close with your fellow art students who are more than willing to help a friend out who is struggling.”

In her education classes, Caroline has gotten to explore how art and education theories work together. In her Teaching Art Education class (VIAR 215), their class worked with the on-campus to develop lesson plans around the museum’s online collection.

“This project was very special and unique. We picked a work of art and created a lesson plan based off of that work of art,” she said. “It really made you think, and it was super cool to learn about local artists in the Hilliard.”

Those learning experiences are helping prepare Caroline for her career as an art teacher — but she’s learning more than just what’s in the curriculum.

“Perseverance, creative problem solving, and collaboration are three of the biggest skills I have taken away so far,” she said, “and I’m sure there are many more to come.”