Agape Montessori proudly introduces new art teacher, Kristin Colón

Last Friday, August 12, Agape Montessori in Vicksburg officially hired a new art teacher, local mother of three, Kristin Colón.

Colón, who is elated to take the position, experienced her first week of teaching when school started on Monday, August 15. She has been painting and working with various art forms since she was 8 and admits that this is a dream job for her. In addition to life with her family, art is what she is most passionate about.

Colón aims to encourage children to stick to what they love and discover confidence in themselves through art. Despite her love of her craft, she recalls being hard on herself as a child and almost once gave up on doing what she enjoyed most. “I’ve been painting and doing art in various shapes and forms since I was young. I mostly pencil sketched. Looking back, it (my art) was really good, but I was hard on myself so I stopped for a while. I focused on other things then picked it up more seriously about three or four years ago.” She doesn’t ever want a child to doubt their abilities in their pursuits of creativity.

Today, she has become successful in her blossoming career as an artist. She mostly works with paint to produce stunning landscape pieces in a uniquely dreamy and colorful style. “Art does mean a lot to me,” she mentioned. “I love expressing myself through art; I tend to favor landscapes with an abstract feel.” Colón’s work speaks for itself and has begun to accumulate a lot of attention locally. Each painting takes viewers into a beautiful world of bright emotion and contrasting bold hues against soothing pastels.

Since beginning her new position, she’s already been rewarded by witnessing the positive effect her job has had on her students. “I’ve already seen a lot of growth in my students where they can express themselves creatively. That’s really exciting for me, to see them grow in their own creativity,” she exclaimed. Colón’s sweet, soft spoken voice and warm, cheery attitude make her a welcoming teacher for students entering a new school year.

When asked how she came to achieve this new opportunity, she said, “My sister actually heard about it and she mentioned it to me. I was kind of like, ‘Yes! Who do I need to talk to?'” Colón’s sister, Amanda Matthews, also works at Agape as a substitute teacher and is equally as inviting and friendly to her students.

“I heard about the position on Thursday (August 11.) I got in touch with Susan Floyd who told Lynne Townsend (principal.) I went in for an interview on Friday morning, then got the job!” Colón was very thrilled to be hired so quickly; she was an obvious shoo-in from the start. To her, the new beginning seems like a stroke of fate. She continued, “With school hours it’s a perfect fit. It’s my dream come true. It’s meant to be and feels that way anyways.” She has high hopes for the year ahead and has enjoyed a great first week so far. “I’m really loving it and the kids are great.” she finished with sincerity in her voice.

Whatever accomplishments may lie ahead for Mrs. Colón, it’s certain that both she and her students will be positively impacted by the decision made to bring her onto the school’s team of loving and involved teachers.