“I don’t like to say I have given my life to art. I prefer to say art has given me my life.” This deep passion that was described by artist Frank Stella has been embodied by JHS art teacher Cindy Maloy.

For the past seven years, Maloy has been sharing this passion with her students. Maloy, who has been a resident of Windber since a young age, is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania where she received her degree in Art Education. She originally majored in Elementary and Special Education at California University, but desired more freedom and ultimately decided to switch to Art Education. “My grandma was an art teacher, and I always liked art, and I was okay at it, so it seemed like a good fit.” stated Maloy when asked about the change.

Maloy feels that her career is frustrating yet rewarding at the same time. “Its frustrating to have to try motivating students that don’t really want to be in my classes. Its also hard to teach across the board to students on all learning levels at the same time, but I like to watch my students when they just get it. When they understand and that light bulb goes on, that is my favorite part. I hope that students can, even if they aren’t a good artist, see that there is no specific right or wrong answer in art.” said Maloy. It is this passion that has allowed her to make a difference in many of her students’ lives, one of her favorite parts of her career.

Maloy’s passion is not limited to art and her students. In addition to the Art Club she is also an advisor of the school’s Key Club and Ski Club. Maloy’s dedication and desire to help change the lives of others is evident in many of the Key Club’s service projects in which she is involved. One of Maloy’s most notable contributions to the club is her involvement with the Empty Bowls project. Maloy feels this is one of her greatest accomplishments, to be able to create such a great amount of ceramic bowls for the event with only a limited amount of time. To accomplish this, Maloy stayed after school hours to create the bowls. She would often stay till six or seven o’clock in the evening to ensure the goal was met.

In her free time, Maloy enjoys activities such as cooking and gardening. She also enjoys creating pottery and has even recently purchased her own pottery wheel. As for her future, Maloy has many personal goals. Maloy wants to continue her education and pursue a Master’s Degree and some day even possibly become a college professor. She also would like to continue to share her passion with others by opening a pottery store. In addition to these goals, Maloy would also like to travel. She hopes that someday she can travel to Ireland, where her grandfather was from.

All it takes is for one to step into Maloy’s classroom to see that she lives by the words of Frank Stella. Through art, Maloy has seemed to been given her life which creates the passion fueling her everyday activities. In the short time she has been teaching, Maloy has touched the lives of many students by doing what she loves and sharing her passion with them. It is this passion that will continue to inspire each of Maloy’s students throughout the rest of her career.