BY CASSIE VAN OFFREN (’15)
No matter if they are a band enthusiast, a bookworm or an art fanatic, every student in the entire school knows of Ms. Schimmel since most students had her in the intermediate school for art classes. She is now currently one of the two art teachers of the high school, alongside Mrs. Kinsley. She has been teaching since the 2012-2013 school year, taking Mr. Hollen’s position.
Although everyone has either seen her around or has her as a teacher, many people do not know all of the inside information about her, including her art background and intense passion for it.
She explained that she had been interested in art as long as she can remember.
“As a kid, I was always involved in some type of art making that grew into much more as I got older,” said Schimmel. “I have always enjoyed and appreciated the beauty in things that a lot of people overlook or take for granted. This has led me to the path I am on, enjoying life as an artist. It is being observant of my surroundings and taking in what is happening in my life that inspires me to live, create, and be happy.”
She was a long-term sub for an art teacher in Reynoldsburg before coming to Granville for her first year teaching experience. She said that this year marks her twelfth year teaching in Granville: nine at the intermediate school, and three at the high school.
It is expected that the experience would be different from the intermediate school to the high school.
“I really enjoy teaching high school art students,” she said. “I like challenging them, and I like when they challenge me with new ideas and questions about their art. Teaching at the high school is different from teaching at the intermediate school. High school students are much different than 9, 10, and 11 year olds. I like that I can really be myself and talk to them as adults and my humor is understood. I also love seeing my students every day. I feel more connected to them.”
As most people, Schimmel has a favorite and least favorite part about her job. She says that her favorite part is bringing out the creativity that is within each of her students.
“Some of them do not realize it is in there, and once they open it up, a light bulb turns on,” she explained.
Her least favorite part, however, is when students do not clean up after themselves and become lazy. This leads to expensive art supplies being ruined.
As far as the future goes, Schimmel sees a continuation of teaching at the high school.
“I am happy doing what I am doing here now and I feel very blessed to say this, so I have not thought about whether or not there is a different path for me,” she said. “For now, my goal is to see the visual arts at the high school grow into a department and expand to be able to offer more courses. This will allow students to focus more on a specific media and working to improve their technique.”
