Before I began my journey as an artist and educator, I was a Junior Olympic springboard and platform diver. Learning how to dive showed me that when simultaneously incorporating curiosity, passion, and discipline I could surprise myself with how much I could achieve. This discipline allowed me to experience a growth mindset and gave me the courage to embark on an artistic path.
The diver represents a journey of personal growth and personifies my teaching philosophy: To have a willingness to try, to take risks, to do what seems scary, and to learn how to become confident in using both body and mind.
Outside of being personally meaningful, the diver is a symbol of being bold and brave, because it’s always scary to dive in, head first. There’s always an element of fear when diving into the unknown, but because of our desire and excitement, we move through the fear and do it anyway. Once we push through the resistance, we gain the experiential knowledge of what we are really capable of.
