“A ceremony was held at the Massachusetts State House Thursday honoring educators who graduated from the state’s university system.

Nine educators were recognized for their teaching excellence as well as their contributions to the communities where they live and work.

Jean Wallace, a Massachusetts College of Art graduate, was one of the teachers honored at the annual event.

She said she’s been able to teach for more than 20 years because she truly loves what she does. “I think one of the most important things about teaching is being able to share my love for art with others.”

Wallace said she’s taught at different places but especially loves teaching kids with special needs. “Some of the things that I love about teaching in a therapeutic school for kids who have special needs is that the art is so important to them.”

Her advice to anyone wanting to get into teaching? “You really have to love what you are doing,” she said. “You cannot underestimate the amount of effort and time that goes into teaching outside of the classroom time, so you have to be invested, you have to really, really, want that.”

While all of the educators have different fields of expertise, they all share the same passion for teaching.”

Listen the WBZ News Radio story.

On a sunny Saturday afternoon in December, hundreds of community members gathered for the second annual MassArt Common Good Awards. The room buzzed with energy and hope as attendees gathered to honor individuals whose creativity and dedication are transforming lives and communities. 

“When we center art and culture in our work, we can break down barriers,” shared MassArt President Mary Grant in her opening remarks. “Art and design are central to civic life and allow us to work toward a common goal.”

The ceremony featured powerful stories from each honoree, sharing how art has shaped their lives, their work, and their unwavering commitment to serving the greater good.

Frances Euphemia Thompson Award for Excellence in Teaching recipient, May Chau (‘07 BFA Art Education), credited her mentors with sparking her love for ceramics, inspiring her to use art as a common language in her teaching practice. 

Toni Elka (BFA Painting ’86), Distinguished Alumni Award recipient and Founder of Future Chefs, reflected on how her time at MassArt gave  her the tools to help others pursue their own dreams. 

Common Good Award recipient  Thaddeus Miles, photographer and founder of the Black Joy Initiative, reflected on being told as a child that “painting wasn’t manly,” a moment that shaped his eventual journey into photography. He issued a powerful challenge to the audience: to get involved in their communities and use the arts as a tool to foster compassion, celebrate resilience, and build stronger connections. 

With a full Western Massachusetts entourage, awardee Shirley Ann Session Edgerton, community activist, educator,  and founder of the Rites of Passage and Empowerment (R.O.P.E.) program, reminded us of the importance of community empowerment, particularly for young women of color.

You could hear a pin drop as honoree Yinette Guzman (BFA Architecture ’08), Senior Project Manager of Design and Placemaking at the North Shore Community Development Coalition, shared a deeply personal moment, speaking in Spanish about the unwavering support of her family and the transformative experience of being a first-generation college student at MassArt. Guzman highlighted the importance of community in her work and invited her mother to share in the moment, underscoring the collective nature of her achievements.

To cap off an unforgettable afternoon, honoree Frederick Wiseman, spoke of challenging systems through his decades of work as an acclaimed documentary filmmaker. He recounted the difficulty of telling complex stories and emphasized the importance of standing by one’s creative vision.

Each honoree received a custom-made, inscribed artwork by Sam Kim, a Lowell-based ceramics artist and MassArt graduate (BFA Industrial Design and Ceramics ’18), his work embodying the creativity and impact of the honorees themselves.

At MassArt, the Common Good Awards celebrate the profound ways art and design influence civic life, advocacy, and education. This year’s ceremony exemplified the college’s mission to lift up individuals who use creativity to foster positive social change and strengthen their communities. To explore more about the Common Good Awards, as well as this year’s honorees, visit https://massart.edu/massart-common-good-awards/. 

Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt) President Mary K. Grant has announced that May Chau (BFA ’07, Arts Education), Visual Arts Supervisor for Somerville Public Schools, will be one of six recipients of a 2024 MassArt Common Good Award. Chau, a resident of Arlington, will receive the Frances Euphemia Thompson Award for Excellence in Teaching, in recognition of her dedication to fostering creativity and critical thinking through arts education.

Read more in The Somerville Times.

Alumna Monica Srivastava (BFA ’19 Art Education and Painting) sits down with CanvasRebel for a Q&A feature about overcoming obstacles and how art practices evolve over time.

She shares, “I always knew I wanted to be an artist, even if I didn’t always know what that meant. I’ve been a maker and creative person since I was a child, and my need to engage with the arts only increased as I got older. When I decided to pursue an arts education at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, I didn’t know what that was going to look like. I don’t think I even felt like a “real artist” until I was 21. When I first got to MassArt as an incoming freshman, I hopped around degrees for a year after declaring my major. I finally settled in as a dual major in art education and painting. In the art education department, I took a class called “interdisciplinary studio” taught by Steve Locke. He showed me what it meant to be a contemporary artist. He taught me the basics of engaging with contemporary art, the importance of visiting museums and galleries, how to be critical and think for myself. It was through this class that I learned about the different hats artists often wear.”

Read more in CanvasRebel.

Maria Servellón is a multimedia artist, filmmaker and educator whose work delves into the interplay between art, music and dance and how they can shape one’s identity… Servellón has since become an arts educator and is currently teaching at Northeastern and Massachusetts College of Art & Design.

Read more on Mass Live.