On May 12, 2022, the UTeach Fine Arts Student Advisory Council hosted the annual Spring Celebration to honor fine arts education and to applaud our graduating seniors, their mentors and faculty, as well as our many community partners. The last in-person celebration was held in May 2019 so this was an emotional and exciting night for all of UTeach Fine Arts.
Click HERE to view the full photo album.
This year we were pleased to highlight a few students from the UT Spring Project who played beautifully for all of our attendees. Dr. Laurie Scott (Associate Professor in UTeach Music) directs, supervises, and mentors the String Project’s teachers who include many of our current UTeach Music students.
At each Spring Celebration, we honor an Outstanding Educator in Fine Arts Education who primarily taught in Title 1 schools in Texas for over five years. The 2022 honoree was Christopher Reese, Theatre Director at Sam Houston high school in San Antonio. Reese holds an M.A. in Acting from UT Austin and is also a US Army veteran, having served in Operation Desert Storm. He has been teaching in San Antonio for 6 years and was awarded Teacher of the Year at Sam Houston high school in 2022. Prior to teaching, Reese spent many years performing in numerous plays and musicals, honing his passion for the performing arts.
“Christopher Reese is a powerful example of what it means to put connection and relationships before content. He genuinely cares about getting to know his students and establishing community through the art of Theatre. The work being done in his classroom and on the stage is only possible because he listens to his students and responds with their best interests in mind. He is a true gem in the field of Theatre Education.” – Michael Avila, Assistant Professor of Instruction, UTeach Theatre
