Ms. Luiza Grandchamp, a middle and high school teacher, changed her life’s career from biology to art to care for her children.

Inspired by her mother’s passion for teaching art, Ms. Grandchamp watched her mother create art from an early age. 

She researched biology at the University of Houston, but then she started a family. She decided to return to school, not to learn but to teach art, which soon became a passion. 

“I had to decide if I was going to go into biology research, where I probably wouldn’t see much of my kids, or if I would do something different,” Ms. Grandchamp said. 

Ms. Grandchamp, who teaches not only ceramics but also jewelry-making, said she is determined to teach art like her mother taught her.

Growing up around art, Ms. Grandchamp learned many life skills. From organization and coordination to critical thinking, working with art has taught her numerous things about life in general. 

“It’s not just about what you teach. Art has much to do with your life,” she said. “Things sometimes work the way you plan; sometimes they don’t, sometimes you have to be resilient. Art teaches planning and problem solving.” 

In her “Art for Others” Interim Term class, Ms. Grandchamp introduced students to different mediums of art such as jewelry, ceramics and metal work, including silver and copper. 

“The main goal for this class is to have the students make something for themselves and give something away,” Ms. Grandchamp said.  

Her students made a mural for a children’s hospital, while other art pieces were gifted to students’ friends and family members, and even a halfway house for women and children. 

“Ms. Grandchamp is such a remarkable influence on me and my class,” sophomore Haley Alexander said. “She has taught me so much about art in general and the joy it brings when gifted to others.”