A good teacher sees the role as a vocation, not just a job

Louisa Mulvaney shares how she discovered her calling as an art teacher and why she is committed to getting the best out of her students

I did an English degree at Birmingham University, and in my second year changed to English and History of Art. On graduation I volunteered for a charity, and then worked at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in 2008 as a community outreach worker with the elderly. It was after the economic crash and they ran out of funding, so I couldn’t get a permanent contract. I then worked as a youth worker for two years, and at a summer camp I ran an art workshop. The combination of art and teaching made me happy, and I realised I was good at it. I had been experiencing anxiety, and found teaching really absorbing.