Coming from our rival school- Ms. Sullivan attended Whitesboro high school, graduating in 2002. She then went on to attend Syracuse University for both her undergraduate and master’s degrees. In the fall of 2007 she did her first year of teaching at Whitesboro high school. She then began teaching art part time at our elementary schools, until she came up to the high school and has been here ever since. Ms. Sullivan teaches Ceramics 1,2, and 3, along with Digital Photography. She used to teach Studio Art, Drawing , and Advanced Art, but now Mr. Vaughn teaches those classes.
If you know Ms. Sullivan, you must be familiar with Tito, her two and a half year old American bully blue heeler mix. Tito and Ms. Sullivan spent their time playing frisbee, playing catch and going on walks.
“Tito is crazy. He loves to run around and play all the time,” she said.
Some other ways that Ms. Sullivan likes to spend her free time include renovating her house, skiing, taking pictures and traveling. She used to be the advisor of the ski club and yearbook club. She also takes photos for our Varsity sports and Masque shows. Ms. Sullivan has a small photography business where she takes family portraits and wedding pictures. Ms. Sullivan is also one of the chaperones on our ecology Raquette lake trips most years and says those are some of her favorite memories.
When asked Ms. Sullivan’s favorite thing about being an art teacher, she answered, “Every day is a little bit different and it is nice to see the students’ personalities come out and see them grow as an individual. This is easier to see in an art classroom because it is structured differently than a math or science class. Art classes are mostly you figuring out the stuff on your own and problem-solving.”
When asked if she had any fun facts to share, Ms. Sullivan responded, “Actually, Mrs. Hamilton (New Hartford High School teacher) was my JV Volleyball coach at Whitesboro, and her husband was my Spanish teacher!”
Mr. Vaughn (AP Art, Studio Art, painting, digital media art, advanced art, advanced drawing, and drawing teacher) has taught with Ms. Sullivan for 11 years and described what he appreciates about her.
“Other than her obvious artistic skills in ceramics and photography, my favorite thing about Ms. Sullivan is her obsessive use of spreadsheets. She is the most organized art teacher I have ever worked with– without her I wouldn’t know how to find anything. I appreciate her hard work as the Regional Scholastic Art vice president and her tireless efforts preparing our students for the world beyond our classrooms,” Mr. Vaughn said.
Ms. Sullivan is a teacher that students feel very comfortable talking to, and is one who they can have open conversations with. Her classes are more free, not having instruction or a strict schedule which allows for more personal relationships. All I can say is, take ceramics in high school and you will not regret it.
