From the time she was a little kid, Sherry Lipiec has loved art and education. Her father was a teacher, and he inspired her and her brothers to be studious and well-behaved. One of her favorite subjects in school was art; she won her first art award in kindergarten, and continued on from there. When it came time to choose a career, Ms. Lipiec decided to pick something that incorporated both of her passions: art education. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in the subject from Western Michigan University in 1967, and she never looked back.
Ms. Lipiec’s first position in her field was seventh-ninth grade art teacher at Kelly Junior High in Michigan. She then moved through roles like ninth-12th grade art teacher at San Francisco Unified Schools, preschool teacher and Saturday program art teacher at Chelsea Community Education, substitute teacher for kindergarten-fifth graders in the Chelsea School District, and kindergarten-fifth grade teacher for Lincoln Consolidated Schools. Ms. Lipiec spent the last 10 years of her career as an elementary art teacher at Grass Lake Schools. She hated retiring because she loved her job so much, but in 2010, she decided it was time.
Outside of the classroom, Ms. Lipiec was very involved in her community. She was a helping parent at Chelsea Schools, a parent helper for the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, and a school guide and interpreter at the Waterloo Farm Museum in Michigan. Ms. Lipiec was also a member of the Michigan Education Association and the Michigan Art Education Association. To this day, she remains a member of the PTO program at Lincoln Schools.
When Ms. Lipiec has free time, she enjoys sewing, making soap, mosaic work, ceramics, antiques, and volunteering at the Rentschler Farm Museum. She also likes to spend time with her family. Ms. Lipiec considers the highlight of her life to be her sons. They both take after her in terms of creativity, and have become very successful in their own lives. She is very proud of them.