She spent most of her education at one charter school, then switched schools at the end of her freshman year and found her love for art.

Ava Enochs hopes to go to school in Virginia and wants to be an art teacher or librarian, she is also considering art therapy. She said art teacher Mrs. Jones inspired her to consider working in the art world; she had no idea she loved art until Jones’s teaching.

“Most of my life, the art programs were very stifling,” she said. “I just thought I didn’t like art because I wasn’t good at it. Within a week of Mrs. Jones’s visual arts class I was considering myself an artist.”

Jones said Enochs has a desire to learn that will help her in her college career and creative endeavors.  

“She is willing to take chances outside of her comfort zone,” Jones said. “It is great as an artist to want to take chances.” 

Enochs was a teacher’s aid for Jones’ freshmen visual arts class and often helped create lessons. Jones said her appreciation for Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) through the arts could make her both a great art teacher and art therapist. 

“She made a slideshow and taught the freshmen,” Jones said. “I can definitely see her being an art teacher, she can be that light to inspire students to have a love and appreciation for art.”

Enochs wants to eventually live on the East Coast, she prides herself on her goal to be a “crazy cat lady.”  

“I’m going to live in a Victorian house and own 10 cats,” she said. 

At a college preparatory school, academic growth and retaining are often the blueprint for success. Enochs’s most important takeaways were not necessarily academic, but lessons she is glad she learned early in her life. 

“I’m really grateful for the connections that I’ve made here,” she said. “The most important thing I learned was to not take criticism from someone you wouldn’t take advice from.”