Begeske receives AEAI President’s Award
At this year’s Awards Dinner on November 5, Art Education Association of Indiana (AEAI) President Addie Thompson presented Purdue University College of Education’s Jasmine Begeske with a President’s Award. Begeske is a clinical instructor in Special Education in the College’s Department of Educational Studies.
Jasmine Begeske
Begeske’s recent service to AEAI has included acting as her district’s representative and this year taking on the responsibility of being one of two state liaisons to the National Art Education Association’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I) Initiative. This required her to receive specialized training from the national association and form and lead AEAI’s ED&I Committee. With Co-Chair Kathy Danko-McGhee, she created, issued, and interpreted a survey on ED&I topics and recruited members for the committee. Over several months the committee established goals and created an extensive resource database to share with the association membership. During the summer the committee formed a plan for incorporating multiple speakers and workshops on ED&I themes into the state convention programming and then brought it to fruition, creating an exciting, inspiring atmosphere offering actionable information to attendees.
“To me this award acknowledges the importance of equity, diversity, and inclusion work for art teachers in Indiana,” Begeske said. “Art education can foster resilience innovation, and creativity in students. Let’s make sure each and every student has the opportunity to learn and feels that they belong in art class.”
With extensive experience preparing future teachers, researching relationship building as an approach to inclusion, and ways to include vulnerable populations in educational settings, Begeske brings a great deal of expertise and passion to AEAI’s ED&I work. The membership of the association joins President Addie Thompson in thanking Jasmine Begeske for her work and congratulating her on her transformative service!
The Art Education Association of Indiana (AEAI) is the professional education organization dedicated to promotion, advancement, and improvement of art education at all levels in the state of Indiana. The goals of AEAI are to increase public awareness, develop strategies for art education advocacy, inform membership about current issues and developments in art education, recognize outstanding teacher performance and programs statewide, and assist the Indiana State Department of Education in development and implementation of art education curriculum materials and resources.