Education Dept. News

Three M.A.T. Grads First from Same School to Lead NAEA Student Chapters

Three graduates of the Columbia College Chicago MAT art education program in the School of Liberal Arts & Science’s Education Department will make history next year when they become the first officers of the National Art Education Student Chapter from the same college or university.

Two of the officers from Columbia already are NAEA Student Chapter officers, and a third will join them next year. They are:

Heidi Wirtz -O’Hanley, who is serving as president of the NAEA Student Chapter this year and will be past president next year. She is a second-year art educator in Indian Springs School District 109 in Justice, Ill. She travels to three district schools teaching K-6 middle- to low-income students. The district is one of the most diverse in the Chicago suburbs, with a large number of Arabic Polish, and Mexican immigrants. She was treasurer for the Columbia College Student Chapter of the NAEA from 2006-2007. Kristen Grzmenski is serving as president-elect and will become president next year. She is finishing her first year as an art educator in Minooka, Ill. She served as secretary of the Columbia student chapter. Kristie Klein, of Zion, Ill., was elected the incoming president-elect of the NAEA student chapters. She is working as a benefits specialist for Hewitt Associates in Lincolnshire, Ill., while she is completing her master’s degree in art education at Columbia.  She will graduate in 2010.

The Education Department wishes to congratulate all three of these graduates for their leadership and dedication to the art education profession,” said Dr. Anne L. Becker, coordinator of the Art Education Program. “We wish them the best of luck and support as they lead the nation’s student chapters to new ventures within the national art education organization.”

The MAT (Master of Arts in Teaching) art education program at Columbia prepares candidates to teach the visual arts at the elementary, middle and secondary school levels, enhanced by movement, drama, creative writing and sound.

The mission of the National Art Education Association Student Chapters is “to promote the strong leadership, positive advancement and professional development of future art educators around the world.”  It has more than 100 chapters  at colleges and universities nationwide. For more information about the Columbia College Chicago chapter of the NAEA, visit www.colum.edu/Academics/Educational_Studies/NAEA.php