Retired Educators Chair - Debi West

I planned on sharing an end of the year MMM this month and thank the incredible art educators who shared their insights via this new RAEA Mentoring initiative. Tamara Daughtry, Pam Morgan, Gail Peake, Bill Rembert, Bruce Bowman, Erika Couey, Brooks Dantzler, Paige Barlow, Dan DeFoor, and Tracy Kuzminsky. You continue to inspire us all! Truly, THANK YOU!

But then, my mother passed away on December 2nd. It was unexpected and my heart is broken but a friend said why not dedicate this final MMM of the year to your first Mentor: Mom! And so here we are.

When I think about the people who have shaped my life, my mother, my mama bear, stands at the very beginning of that list. She was my first mentor, the one who showed me, by quiet example and by bold action, what it means to live with purpose, compassion, and joy.

My mom was a beautifully balanced soul: a mathematician with an artist’s heart. She could solve a complex equation one minute and paint something breathtaking the next. She taught both high school and college students, and it was impossible to miss the way her eyes lit up when she talked about “her kids”, students who felt more like family. Teaching wasn’t just a job for her; it was her gift to the world. She carried that same generosity into everything she did. In Tri Delta, in P.E.O., in every leadership role she stepped into, she lifted others up with grace, kindness, and a steady confidence. She loved life deeply and lived it fully, and that passion poured into everyone lucky enough to know her.

As an art educator myself, I can trace so much of who I am back to her influence. My successes, my sense of wonder, my belief in the transformative power of creativity; those roots all lead back to her. She taught me to see beauty everywhere, to stay curious, and to give more than I take.

We all need people who motivate and inspire us throughout our lives. My list is long, but it all started with my mom. If I had to capture what her mentorship meant to me in a simple way, it would look like this:

M.O.M. – my Model of Mentorship, she didn’t just talk it, she walked it for 82 years.

Thank you Diane Duvanant, my mentor, my guide, my mother!

May we all inspire authentically like she did. I miss you dearly!

So Sincerely,

Debi West, Ed.S, NBCT -dewestudio@gmail.com

#togetherweARTbetter

Retired Educators Chair - Debi West