Many people know Mrs. Duckworth as just an art teacher, however she’s way more than what meets the eye. Mrs. Duckworth has faced many obstacles and battles in her life. These obstacles have made her into the strong woman she is today. 

Not only does she teach hundreds of kids daily and takes care of her own kids, but one of her biggest battles is cancer. On her journey with cancer, Mrs. Duckworth shared that she feels a greater connection to the sky and the sun. 

“I’m noticing the clouds in the sky and the moon and the sun more than I ever used to”. 

Mrs. Duckworth had a passion for photography before she realized she had a passion for art. At just 16 years old she wanted to go into photography and would share her photographs with her great uncle. However, when she was in college, she knew that she wanted to be an artist, and her high school teacher always told her she had an eye for art.

She hated drawing and painting until some of her colleagues recognized her artistic talent and encouraged her to draw more. Mr. Reddout was the one who got her into doing her yearly Inktober, in which all the art teachers and art students participate in a drawing each day of October.  

She stated that student behavior and their apathy were a major challenge as a teacher. 

“Kids just don’t seem to care about getting good grades or schoolwork at all, and I put a lot of energy into developing lessons that I think the kids will find interesting and fun”.

When she was graduating, her mom told her she should stay and get a degree in teaching, but she said no, and she hated kids. But when she started working professionally, people would always tell her that she should be a teacher and that she was really good at explaining things. Finally, one day, she thought maybe she would give it a shot.