Stephanie Kueker, the newest addition to Naz’s Fine Arts Department, comes with over 15-years of experience teaching art, and she couldn’t be more excited to return to work after taking time off to raise her youngest son.
From a young age, Keuker was fascinated by art and her experience doing crafts with her mom is what sparked her own passion for creativity. Since childhood, Kueker’s love of art has expanded into many artforms including murals. She said, “I think murals can make an impact.” When she was in high school, she painted a mural to raise money for the people affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami.
Kueker graduated in 2009 from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign with a degree in Art Education, and she is actively working to get her Master’s degree in gifted education.
When she began her career as a teacher, another tsunami hit Japan, and she thought it was a perfect way to get her students involved and raise money for the cause. So, she created another mural and invited students to get involved by asking them for a $1 donation for the Red Cross to include their own handprints in the design
The person who was most influential and sparked the flame for Kueker to become a teacher, is her former colleague, Mr. Zitzer. She said that she was fresh out of college and that he was a tremendous mentor to her, even though he was a history teacher. Kueker was inspired by Zitzer, and the way he was able to foster relationships with students.
“He gave everything that he had to his students and I just thought it was such an inspiration to learn from him and be able to have a mentor to show me the important parts of being a teacher. It’s not always about art, or about history in his case,” Kueker said.
Zitzer passed away last year, but Kueker keeps his memory alive by displaying a gift from him: a wooden peace sign that hangs above the white board in the art room.
“Many art students are gifted and overlooked because it’s not about testing when it comes to art,” said Kueker. “It’s about how their brain works and how they’re able to interpret information into an art piece.”
Outside of work, Kueker loves watching comedy and strategy shows, and enjoys live events and performances. Kueker also loves to live in the moment of these art forms while being surrounded by other artists who enjoy the same thing.
