For the second semester, the art department welcomed a brand new teacher: Mr. Alex Walton. Walton is teaching art classes primarily for the junior high, but he also has a section of Drawing and Painting for senior high students.

Although it’s his first year teaching at BSM, Walton has had a connection to BSM for years, through senior high art teacher Ms. Leah Klister. “I went to St. Olaf, which is the same school Ms. [Nan] Onkka and Ms. Klister went to. [Ms. Klister and I] were actually in the same graduating class, so we knew each other a bit from school,” Walton said.

At the beginning of the semester, Walton felt the transition into the school was mostly positive. “I’m still getting to know everyone’s name and feeling the vibes of each class, but so far everyone’s been cool, so I’m excited [for the rest of the semester],” Walton said.

Walton also feels that the BSM community gave him a warm welcome ever since he applied for the position. “Even starting from when I first got hired, with both Dr. [Susan] Skinner and [interim president] Shay Wyley, everyone was cool… Every time I see the rest of the teachers at lunch, they’ve been really nice and introduced me,” Walton said.

In the coming years, Walton hopes to add a different perspective to the art classes and to also add three-dimensional work into the curriculum. “I build a lot of things three-dimensionally, so I’m coming at it from a perspective a little bit differently. Most of our classes are two-dimensional oriented, but my experience outside of this has been science and engineering based…so when they present projects, [I hope] they can think about engaging the audience in different ways,” Walton said.