SIOUX CITY | Even at an early age, Summer Wulf knew she wanted to teach art for a living.
It certainly helped that her older sister became a school teacher and that her stepdad had been a teacher with more than 30 years experience.
"I have a few teachers in my family," said Wulf, a 2013 Denison Community School District graduate. "That probably entered into my decision-making."
By the time she graduated from Morningside College with a bachelor's degree in art education in December, Wulf had already secured a job as an art teacher with Sioux City Community Schools.
"I get to do something that I already love doing," said Wulf, 21. "How cool is that?"
Angelica Mercado said her parents wished she'd pursued her college degree in education. However, the 2012 Fremont Senior High School graduate had a very different plan.
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"I'm an artist but I didn't want to be a teacher," she said. "I want my art to make a political statement."
Art as a form of self-identity
Born to a Hispanic father who lived in Mexico and a Hispanic mother who was born in California, Mercado never thought she fit in.
"I was born in Mexico but I left the country shortly after that," she said. "In addition, I never fit into the Mexican community because my mom was born in America. But I never really fit in as a American because my parents never learned English."
Growing up in rural Nebraska, Mercado knew her neighbors saw her as nothing but Hispanic.
"Yeah, you were always viewed differently in their eyes," she said.
Acting as a translator for her parents as well as being a second parent to her younger siblings, Mercado knew she had to grow up in a hurry.
But she took solace in the art practiced by her mom.
"My mother is very artistic," Mercado said. "I guess I took after her."
She discovered art had a way to move people emotionally; plus, it could start a dialogue.
This was especially true during her student art show-- which included drawings, paintings, sculpture and mixed media displays -- during the run-up to November's presidential election.
"The art show focused on the plight of the undocumented immigrant," Mercado said. "Having immigration as one of the big issues made my art show especially provocative."
Mercado said her biggest artistic influence is Mexican surrealistic painter and feminist icon Frida Kahlo.
As for Wulf, her favorite artist is American realist painter Andrew Wyeth.
"I'm all about realism," she said. "I don't do any surrealism."
Stretching the boundaries of art
Wulf would never place restrictions on any art form.
"That's the great thing about college," she said. "I came in as a painter but my professors encouraged me to try my hand at sculpture and other forms I had never tried before."
As much as Wulf learned in the classroom, she said it was her student teaching that proved most effective.
"I student taught in an elementary school and I student taught in a high school," she said. "Each presented different types of challenges but I liked them both."
Wulf said she has a natural affinity for younger students. Still, she had fun with the older students.
"I thought I'd be intimidated by the high school students since I was only a few years older than they were," she said. "But the other teachers told me that student teachers age in dog years. Teaching them in a classroom setting, I felt a lot older than my actual age."
This month, Wulf will begin teaching three days a week at three different elementary schools. She'll work as a substitute teacher for the remaining two days.
After graduation, Mercado said she plans to save up money before studying to become an art museum curator in graduate school in the fall.
But in the meantime, she's a regular columnist for her hometown newspaper.
"I'm the millennial columnist for the Fremont Tribune in Fremont, Neb.," she said. "I represent the voice of the young generation."
This is pretty heady stuff for a girl who always felt out of place.
"Art has given me confidence," she said. "It's also given me a cause and a voice."
