Ambassador

Emily Bittner has been teaching Art for over 10 years. In those years, Bittner taught at the Crucible in Oakland, where she was able to teach youth and adults. She taught ceramics, metals, sewing, glassblowing, leather working, and flat glass. She then began teaching after-school programs in Oakland, working with underserved youth and teaching about garden programs, which she found very rewarding. Bittner has since taught in two different public schools. One served students from low-income families who were working through trauma and homelessness while striving to graduate and hope to enroll in college. This program taught her to see so much beauty in teaching and the freedom it can give to youth needing to find a new path. She was able to start a new ceramics program from the ground up. Bittner also worked with a new start-up school as a Makerspace teacher, integrating Technology and Art for students interested in Engineering and Development. She has learned more about 3D printers, laser cutters, vinyl cutters, and CNC machines. This work with students has been very rewarding and a great way to challenge herself and grow as a teacher. Bittner has enrolled in a Makerspace training course and will graduate this summer. As of May 2020, she graduated from her TEFL program with a certificate to help others achieve their own dreams. She feels fortunate to have had this training and to be able to use language as an art form, helping others see potential opportunities. Bittner went through a rigorous program where she taught online with weeks’ worth of lessons, support materials, games, and grammar. She really enjoyed this program and is excited to bring Art and English to students around the world. She is currently working full time as a Ceramics teacher in a public school and strives to bring as many opportunities as possible to her students, learning and growing alongside them.