Stephanie Bodnaruk

Art has always been a part of long-term art substitute teacher Stephanie Bodnaruk’s life. While much of her early imagination was fueled by watching an excessive amount of TV, as she got older, she was also able to find creativity in more structured art classes and activities. 

 

“I'm not a free-spirited type [of person] who was always keeping a journal,” Bodnaruk said. “I don't have that kind of discipline. Some people are so prolific — art just spills out of them. I was not that way.”

 

Growing up with immigrant parents that Bodnaruk describes as “really hard working,” Bodnaruk chose to pursue a more “practical” major in graphic design, since she didn’t believe she could make a living going the “full-on art route.” She was eventually dissatisfied with her job as a graphic designer.

 

“I was doing 3D modeling and I just thought I'd rather work with clay than be sitting at a computer and pretending like there's clay in the screen,” Bodnaruk said. “And so that was frustrating, and I didn't realize that until I was in school, because I was trying to be practical. I was trying to make a living out of being artistic and it didn't work ... I realized that I'd rather do something meaningful.”

 

After going back to school, Bodnaruk became a substitute teacher for grades kindergarten through 12th grade as well as a kindergarten teacher for two years at L.P. Collins Elementary School, before she decided to go back to school to study studio art and received her single-subject credential to teach art. She also had the opportunity to revisit and explore 3D art after she took a ceramics class “on a whim.”

 

Since she grew up and still lives in Sunnyvale, she wanted to teach close by, and when a position opened up at MVHS, she decided to apply for the position.

 

“I'm looking forward to seeing students become better artists,” Bodnaruk said. “And that I have a role in guiding them towards that, and that's very exciting to me, to give them the opportunity to learn new things. I just look forward to seeing all the students progress.”