This article originally appeared in the January 2025 edition of The Commuter.
Tell me about your major and year in school.
This is my freshman year of college and I am doing early childhood education. I’ve had experience working with children in the past, and I wanted to make that my full-time sort of thing. I’m also minoring in art. I’m mostly focusing on early childhood education, but I also want to become an animator for cartoons. The animation industry has been kind of hit or miss lately, so I decided to focus on something more stable.
What brought you to LBCC specifically?
LBCC was near an area that I was able to move to and I’ve always wanted to live in Oregon. I actually moved up from Southern California. My friend moved up a few years before me and I followed suit. Myself, my friend, and my fiancé are all going to college here.
Tell me about some of your classes and what they entail.
I’ve only got three classes this year because I was wanting to start it slow and not overload myself. I haven’t been in school for a couple years. One of them is just a math class, and then my first year seminar, which all first year students are required to take. But the main class that relates to my major is for early childhood development, and I’ve been genuinely really enjoying that class. It’s probably my favorite. The teacher is amazing. And I just love being really interactive in the class and I’m really excited to have more classes on the subject.
What are your roles at the Periwinkle Child Development Center and how have you liked working there?
I joined through the work study [this year] and it kind of took a really long time to get to starting the job. I was accepted into being able to work in the position really early, but the process of getting everything going took forever. I’m still in the process right now. I need to get a background check before I can actually fully interact with the children. So until then, I’ve just been helping around. I’ve been decorating a lot. I built a Grinchmas tree and the little paper star on top. I’ve been wrapping presents, painting the window – all that sort of stuff until I can get my background check cleared. I’ve been really enjoying it. I’ve been able to utilize my art even though it’s not my major.
Could you tell me about the mural that you’re working on outside of the PCDC?
I had been helping Kendra [Votava] wipe down the previous window that she had painted, and I decided to mention to her that I was an artist and I’d be happy to draw the Christmas one. And so I just kind of talked with her and I just randomly said, “Hey, what if I did a Rudolph one?” And she was like, “Oh yeah, that would be super fun.” I was like, I could do all the reindeer, I could even do Santa. So I sketched up a design on my iPad and kind of just went from there. I roughly remembered what the windows looked like, sketched up a template on my iPad, and drew all of the nine reindeer, with Rudolph at the front and each of the reindeer going back behind him until they eventually led to Santa.
I haven’t timed it exactly, but it took me around 35 hours. The majority of my shifts here have been almost solely dedicated to that. And a little bit of wrapping paper, and again, decorating here and there. So at least half the time I’ve been here so far I’ve been putting into that mural, if not a bit more.
What got you interested in art and how long have you been doing it for?
It’s difficult to answer how long I’ve been doing it. I’ve kind of been doing it forever. My mom was always super encouraging about my art, so ever since I can remember I’ve been drawing. I’ve been drawing animals and making attempts at people. Over the years I put in more and more effort and I started practicing until I was able to draw really well.
I mostly sketch in my sketchbook, but I also do a lot of marker art as well. Though not as much recently, because with the move from Southern California I had to leave a lot of my art stuff behind. But it’s mostly been sketching.
What are some of your other hobbies and interests?
A lot of video games and reading books mostly. I know it’s a bit childish, but I really like reading the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” books. They’re just really fun. And I just enjoy a simple horror mystery that’s not even that scary, but it’s entertaining. “Undertale” was a big part of my life when that was super popular. I’m playing a lot of “Don’t Starve” right now. That’s been a really fun game; “Minecraft,” lots of games like that. If I’m looking at my hours, the game I’ve played the most has got to be “Stardew Valley.” Over 200 hours in that game.
I watch gaming YouTubers here and there, definitely a lot of the storytime animators as well. That definitely inspired me to want to become more of an artist. TheOdd1sOut, Jaiden Animations, Domics – those three have inspired my art a lot and I want to someday make my own little storytime YouTube channel.
What are your plans for after LBCC?
I plan on only really being in LBCC for two to three years, and then transferring over to Western Oregon University. I can continue my teaching program there. Then after that, becoming a teacher as my day job and working on my art as a night job.
Is there a certain age range that you’d like to teach?
Not really. I want to teach every age. I want to start off [with the] youngest and just kind of work my way up and figure out which age I like the most.
Have there been any role models in your life who influenced you and your career field?
Some of my teachers when I was a kid – I can’t remember their names anymore. I can only remember maybe a handful of them by name. But a lot of my teachers as a kid were really kind, understanding, and encouraging. I remember one teacher in my elementary school, she would give every single kid a unique certificate over the year. She would figure out their personalities and their strengths, and then she’d make custom little certificates for everyone. And mine was being a dreamer because I’ve always been super creative.
What would you say has been the most challenging part of the early childhood education program so far?
I guess the classes that don’t directly involve my major. So my math class I’ve been struggling with a lot because I’m just not a fan of math. I like math, I do. But when it comes to the structure, using specific formulas, and memorizing key terms, that’s when it kind of loses me.
Is there anything else that you’d want readers to know about the program or about the Periwinkle Center?
I’ve barely dipped my toes in either, but honestly, so far it’s been really fun. So if you want to become a teacher, you like children, and you have that energy and drive, go for it.