Painting a Full Circle from Taylor to Toledo

Emily Mitchell ‘24 didn’t set out to become a teacher. When she entered Taylor University, she tentatively chose Art Education as a potential career path rather than a certainty. It wasn’t until she immersed herself in the program that her creative spark ignited. What started as a nudge became a calling, one she came to embrace with both hands and a whole heart. 

“Somebody told me I’d be good at it,” Mitchell said. “So, I went with it. Praise God I fell in love with it.” 

After graduating in Fall 2024, Mitchell now works full-time as a visual arts teacher at the Toledo School for the Arts, her high school alma mater. Her position allows her to merge her love for creative expression with her desire to invest in the next generation. Outside the classroom, she also has experience as a lead instructor for the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, mentoring student artists and curating public art that brings beauty and meaning to her hometown. 

A Canvas of Calling 

Mitchell plays a key leadership role in “Young Artists at Work,” a highly regarded summer program that employs high school students to create public art across the city of Toledo. The initiative blends professional development with community impact, offering teens the rare opportunity to get paid for making art with purpose. 

As a lead instructor, Mitchell guides students through each stage of mural design—from brainstorming and client collaboration to final execution. Last summer, her team completed a vibrant mural for the Toledo Farmers Market, transforming a blank wall into a welcoming, story-filled canvas. For many students, it was their first experience navigating the real-world tension between creative freedom and client expectations, something Mitchell intentionally built into the experience. 

Teaching Where She Learned  

Mitchell’s teaching journey brought her full circle, where she now instructs students in the same hallways where she once walked as a teenager. Her current role includes everything from seventh grade art classes to foundational high school courses, offered in the very school that first shaped her creative identity. 

Landing the position immediately after graduating from Taylor during a December hiring cycle was both rare and, in her view, providential.  

“It was a God thing,” Mitchell said. “I mean, five years ago I was just a 17-year-old girl, and now I’m teaching there. That is full circle, it really is.” 

For Mitchell, stepping into a classroom where her former teachers now call her colleague is both surreal going from student to mentor. 

Mentorship in Motion

Mitchell attributes her approach towards teaching to the example set by the educators who saw her potential and chose to walk alongside her, especially when the path grew difficult. Among them, Hannah Richardson, Assistant Professor of Art Education and Pre-Art Therapy, stood out as a steady presence. When Mitchell hit moments of discouragement and doubt, Richardson responded not with easy answers but with unwavering belief and practical support.  

“I see myself more as an artist as an educator, so I really struggled with teaching,” Mitchell said. “She met me as much as she could and had me do extra placements to get where I needed to be, especially for student teaching.”  

Mitchell also credits Assistant Professor of Art, Jeremie Riggleman, with helping her discover her creative voice. She described his classroom as one that wasn’t about getting it “right,” but rather discovering what art could be. That freedom gave Mitchell the confidence to grow not only as an artist, but as someone who could encourage the same risk-taking in others. 

A Quiet Witness 

In a secular and diverse school environment, Mitchell lives her faith not through preaching, but through presence. She begins each day with prayer over her classroom, quietly covering her space and her students in God’s care. Though she doesn’t speak openly in the school setting, her values show up in how she leads, listens, and loves her students. 

“My school is very diverse and a lot of people there aren’t Christian,” Mitchell said. “The Education Department at Taylor really helped me focus on the actions I needed to be doing and the attitude I needed to have to display God-like love to others.”