Taylor Hubbard, K-12 art teacher at Centennial School
Taylor Hubbard has been experiencing the classic “imposter syndrome” as she navigates day to day as the K-12 art teacher for Centennial School District in San Luis. Never mind she’s been in the classroom since October 2022, kind of finding the job – or maybe it was the job calling her – after she and her family moved to San Luis that year.
Hubbard was working as a freelance graphic design artist in northern Colorado when she and her husband decided to pull up stakes after buying some land in Costilla County. The school district needed substitutes, she applied, and before she knew it she was the art instructor – and became a very good one at that.
We know this because on Wednesday Curtis Garcia and his crew from the Adams State School of Education arrived in her classroom, as she was freestyle drawing on a paper wall, to surprise her with the Adams State Educator Highlight Award for her work with students at Centennial School.
“This is massive because I struggle so much with imposter syndrome and I know that I know art and I know that I am doing a really good job teaching my students about art, and I can go through all of the formative assessments with them and I can ask them questions that they can answer, but it’s beyond that,” she said in describing what it meant to receive the educator highlight award from Adams State.
“That’s really powerful for me because it’s that affirmation of, no, ‘You are good and you are good enough, and you’re doing a really good job.’ So that’s pretty incredible.”
The teaching profession, being the art teacher, has gone beyond rewarding to being a calling for her. She sees how art can be an important way for students to connect with the world other than through technology.
“We actually did an awesome colcha embroidery unit, which is a super special type of embroidery for this area. And so the kids, as they’re working on their embroidery pieces, they physically couldn’t be on their phones at all because they had to use both of their hands to sew.
“That was so powerful to watch them working and creating and not being able to use technology,” she said. “And so I think that this is a really awesome space for bringing back that creativity where they have to think outside the box and they have to get messy, and it’s very rare, I think, because we’re always connected to technology.”
It was Adams State’s first presentation to a teacher at Centennial School District since it launched the Educator Highlight Award in 2023. Nominations for deserving educators are received on a continuous basis using this nomination form.
“I love these kids. I think about them constantly,” Hubbard said. “And when we’re not at school, I am thinking of things that I know about them and connecting that to stuff to what we might see outside or stuff that I see when we’re driving. They’re on my mind all the time.
“It is a small community. I feel like we’ve been really accepted here. We’ve just had such a great experience and the kids are the driving force behind everything that I do. They’re the reason why I’m back in school. They didn’t even make me want to pull my hair out.”
Each month Adams State recognizes an educator from around the Valley through its Educator Highlight Award. Garcia and the staff at the ASU School of Education look for nominations from community members and the schools.
To make a nomination of your favorite teacher, or school administrator, or even the custodian and cafeteria worker in your school, follow this link to submit the nomination.
The Educator Highlight Award recognizes Adams State University School of Education alumni, prominent local teachers, and other educators working within or hailing from the San Luis Valley. In so doing, Adams State University hopes to build familiarity with the community as a serious destination for future educators.
PAST EHA WINNERS
Presley Garcia, Monte Vista special education teacher
Nick Dionisio, Alamosa High English teacher
Aaron Miltenberger, Boys & Girls Club executive director
Anna Bishop, Center High School CLD teacher
Phyllis Vigil, Sierra Grande first-grade teacher
AlexAndria Moore-Guenter, Moffat Schools secondary counselor
Omar Gonzalez, Alamosa Elementary visual art and music teacher
Leanna Brazel, Alamosa Elementary kindergarten teacher
Freddy Lawrence, Alamosa Elementary custodian
Joe Guenther, South Conejos School District
Katie Turner, Del Norte math teacher
Edwin Mondragon, Monte Vista High School agriculture teacher
Aaron Williams, GOAL High School English teacher
Miriam Baines, Alamosa High School biology and math teacher
Rachel Kellum, Moffat Schools art teacher
Darlene Pinales, Sargent School District, food service staff member
Upward Bound summer faculty, Adams State University Review of Awardees
Erika Henderson, chemistry teacher Alamosa High School
Jay Sarason, aviation teacher, Sargent High School
Domingo Estrada, director, Semillas de la Tierra
Lisa Lucero, preschool teacher, Moffat School District
Scott Honeycutt, ASD’s transportation director and chief safety officer
Annette Sisneros, fifth-grade teacher, Alamosa Elementary
ABOUT THE EDUCATOR HIGHLIGHT AWARD:
This monthly award recognizes Adams State University School of Education alumni, prominent local teachers, and other educators working within or hailing from the San Luis Valley. In so doing, Adams State University hopes to build familiarity with the community as a serious destination for future educators. Nominate an educator .
