Kiara Moreno

Master of Arts in Teaching, 2015
School of Education

August 1, 2013

“My focus on the Arts will be a continuous journey of knowledge and learning.”

After graduating this past May with a Bachelor of Arts in Art Education at California State University, Fullerton, I am excited to be attending the Teaching Credential Program at UC Irvine this upcoming fall. Although these past four years have been intellectually challenging, it is my dream to not only delve into and tap the technical abilities and application of various mediums of art, but also inspire appreciation and creativity both inside and outside the classroom setting. With this in mind, I was excited to hear that the Teaching Credential Program offered at UCI had what I wished to pursue – a Single Subject Teaching Credential in Art. Meeting the faculty and staff at the School of Education has impacted me greatly, as I have received such welcoming guidance. I am especially excited to be one of the few candidates to be pursing Art Education, and it will be a great honor to learn from Dr. Kimberly Burge. Having heard such great compliments about her class, I am enthusiastic to explore and discover the theoretical concepts of the Arts.

With a multicultural background of Chinese, Colombian, and Italian, I know that my pursuit of teaching the Arts has been guided by the variant multicultural experiences that have influenced my identity today. Having been confronted with constant obstacles ranging from social issues to financial issues, I recognize that my artwork demonstrates my continuing search for, and appreciation of, the Arts as part of my identity.

This past year I was fortunate to gain first-hand experience participating in and leading two successful exhibitions (What the Art? and Scaling Skies) at the Exit Gallery at CSU Fullerton, as well as exhibiting two of my works at Springtime At The Arboretum: A Botanical and Landscape Watercolor Exhibition by CSUF Art Students.

Such modest accomplishments are just the beginning of my mission to continue promoting the Arts, and I am looking forward to pursuing the introduction of new art mediums such as book arts, calligraphy, and installation art within K-12 schools.

Currently, I am working as a Teaching Assistant at ShuChih Art Studio. Focusing on teaching students ranging from kindergarten to high school, and motivating them not by grades but with passion, instilling in them a curiosity to learn, has been an invigorating experience. This experience also has allowed me to put into practice what I am learning in Education 173: Cognition and Learning in Educational Settings.

My focus on the Arts will be a continuous journey of knowledge and learning as I set forth to integrate the active “hands-on” learning from my experiences at CSU Fullerton with the theoretical and practical training I will be receiving at UCI. As I go forward, I will remember the words Michelangelo once said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” Over the next year I, too, will discover the teacher within me.

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