I have to break the fourth wall to really communicate to each of you what an amazing human being Caitlin is.  I’ve actually taken her intermediate drawing course during my undergraduate years in college; she is an excellent professor, but more importantly a friend. Throughout my life I’ve had many art professors, coming from a background as an artist myself, but there has always been a disconnect between the relationship between student and teacher; it’s always been a, “Okay this is the proper technique to draw this, now do that as an assignment, come in and get a grade.” On the contrary, in Caitlin’s class, learning and honing artistic skills was done in a series of spontaneous exercises which both challenged and taught us very interesting techniques for efficiently activating our composition. The projects were just as interesting as well! I will never forget our first project for Caity’s class where my partners and I made a multi-medium piece that functioned as a proclamation of the reaction to the Amazon forest fires, to the fire in Notre Dame. Both inside and outside the classroom, Caity encouraged me by even taking an interest in my architectural work, giving me advice and resources regarding an artist who I was using as a precedent for my studio projects. Even outside of school itself, she was there for me and supported me as I put forward several projects for this platform, even offering to put in recommendations for me for a job at an architectural office. Caitlin is heavily invested in the welfare of her students not because that is what the job description entails, but because she genuinely cares. Even on the subject of equity for women, and anti-violence towards minorities in America, Caitlin is vocal and uses her social media to share relevant information to bring attention to some of these issues. Thank you for being my friend Caity; I hope there are more teachers like you out there who are so mindful to his or her students. You never know who may need that kindness.