This school year North gained many new teachers and staff members. Ms Lucas, the newest addition to North’s art department, was hired just this school year. From attending the prestigious  Lawrence University to Backpacking across Europe, she’s led a life that many of us would envy.

While she grew up in the Woodstock and the nearby Chicago, Ms Lucas attended Lawrence University right here in Appleton. “I absolutely loved it,” she says, “I majored in art and art history and got my teaching certificate there.” She loved it so much, in fact,  that she now regularly teaches art education there.

Growing up she was always an “artsy tomboy,” as she puts it. Art was always a big part of her life as her father was an artist and she was constantly exposed to new art supplies. Growing up she knew she wanted a career in the arts, and for a brief while considered being an interior designer. “It just wasn’t very personal,” she explains, “I wanted to interact with kids and try to make a difference in kids lives.” And with that goal in mind she became a teacher.

When asked about what inspired her to become an artist, she goes to when she was in high school. “Art class was an incredible outlet for me, it helped me maintain a much needed balance in my life. That, and I had a really cool art teacher who showed me that there was a career out there for me.” She adds, “Kids deserve to have art in their lives, and this teacher really showed me a way of doing that, making that a reality.”

Besides teaching and making art Ms Lucas enjoys cooking and traveling. “I travel all the time, from backpacking in Europe when I was in college to quick weekends away on different coasts.”

She actually made her way to Europe while she was still in college. “I worked my butt off for 2 years washing dogs at a pet parlor and odd jobs and selling artwork” she explains. “I earned my way to europe and bought a eurorail pass and kind of hopped trains for a while. Ultimately working my way all the way from Ireland down the entire western coast all the way to Italy, then studied abroad there after I caught up with some instructors. I lived there for 3 months,” she casually adds.

As an artist, her newest obsession is watercolors,“I’ve just been having fun with it. its very forgiving,” and she often feels inspired by the abstract and iconic works of Andy Warhol (her favorite piece being the ever famous Campbells Soup Cans painting).

Other than art and traveling she talks about her uniquely contrasting family. “I have a very big family.” She mentions a “hippy brother”, who she reveals lives with no running water, and a sister who enjoys a much more modern city life in New York City.

Though new to North, she is already a favorite among the art and Career Academy students. Ali Basham, a sophomore in Career Academy says, “She’s a really nice teacher, she helps you understand things and really tries to help you. She also has really unique ideas and helps you think outside the box.”