Allisence Chang, a graphic artist and page designer for the Arizona Republic, announced this week she’s leaving newspapers to become a teacher.
A 2008 graduate of Michigan State University, Allisence worked internships at the Somerville (Mass.) News and with me at the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va. She also served a fellowship at the Poynter Institute in 2008 and studied in Quito, Ecuador, before joining the Republic later that year.
She agreed to answer a few questions for us…
Q. So you’re leaving newspapers to become a teacher? What will you be teaching? What age group?
A. Yup, I plan on becoming a teacher. Scary, isn’t it?
I’ll be teaching elementary special education. This means I’ll be in both the general education classroom as well as whatever special education system the district has set up.
Q. Tell me more about this program. Who funds it? How does it work? What kind of a degree will you end up with?
A. The program I’ll be a part of is called ASPIRE, which stands for Arizona Special Initiative to Recruit and Retain Educators. It’s a joint partnership between Arizona State University and eight urban and rural school districts that are in particular need for special education teachers. The program has been around for a couple of years now, but this will be the first year it’s finally received more funding, both federal and state.
Essentially, it’s a one-year scholarship residency where I’ll be teaching and reporting to two teachers. After that, I’m bound by contract to the school district for three years. I’ll end up with a Masters in elementary education and special education.
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A few samples of Allisence’s work. Click any for a larger view:
Q. What will be your last day at the Republic?
A. May 19.
Q. Do you see teaching as a long-term thing? Or do you expect to return to newspapers one day?
A. Personally, I consider four years very long-term. What’s going to happen after that? I’m interested in finding out, too!
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Allisence gets a ride around the parking lot courtesy of Ken Wright
and Major on her last day of work at the Virginian-Pilot in 2007:
Q. Do you think you’ll miss the newsroom a lot? What to you suppose you’ll miss the most?
A. I’ll miss the newsroom. I’m a little sad, but extremely grateful for this chance to give back in such a meaningful way. To be honest, I’ve always thought of journalism as a passive way of making a difference — if there’s a problem, we investigate it, tell our readers about it, and hope and wait for them to do something about it. There’s nothing wrong with that, and we definitely need people to do that, but this is an opportunity to actively make a difference, so the excitement greatly outweighs any sadness.
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A few examples of Allisence’s photography work:
Q. I just LOVE your photo blog. You’ve managed to keep up a pretty steady pace posting there, unlike most bloggers, who get bored and wind down after a while. What’s your secret?
A. My secret? I love exploring and being tourist! I’m also quite good at forcing my friends to run around the desert with me …
Q. From reading your blog, one gets a sense that you enjoy eating. Is that the case? If so, then why are you not as heavy as I am?
A. Lots of people have mentioned this before, but to be honest, I really hate eating. If Ramen wasn’t so bad for me, I wouldn’t mind eating it every day. My friends love eating.
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Just a few examples of the food porn Allisence posts in her blog:
Q. You grew up in Boston. You went to college in Michigan. Your folks now live in San Diego. You’ve been in Phoenix for a couple of years now. When folks ask you where you’re from, what do you tell them?
A. I make a funny face at them because I have no answer for them. I have no home! :)
Find Allisence’s online portfolio here and her blog here.
