Sonoma State University

Sarah Heyward

Sarah Heyward
Sarah Heyward

Class: 2015

Graduated with a French major in 2015

In 2020, Sarah accepted a tenure-track position at the University of New Mexico-Albuquerque (Valencia Campus). Sarah discovered her love of languages through her unique study abroad experience at Sonoma State University. As a freshman, Sarah made it a priority to study abroad in France for her sophomore year before she had even started her first semester at college. 

Painting leaning on a chair

After a few months in the introductory language program in Aix-en-Provence as a sophomore, Sarah decided to tackle her frustration in learning a foreign language by applying to the Paris program for the following year. Returning to the U.S. as a Junior, Sarah had spent more time abroad than she had at Sonoma State University and was jokingly declared the “French-major-we’ve-never-met” by her professors. Sarah double-majored and obtained a BA in French and a BFA in painting. Studying French was crucial in opening up her critical thought process about the world which she used actively to enhance her artwork. After graduating from Sonoma State University, Sarah moved to Philadelphia to attend Tyler School of Art and obtain an MFA in Painting. 

Art Class Project, street scene

At Tyler, Sarah was awarded multiple teaching assistantships as well as a curatorial fellowship and a semester as “Teacher of Record”.  Currently, Sarah is working and living in Philadelphia teaching design and drawing in higher education at multiple schools. Sarah incorporates her experience learning another language abroad in her fundamental teaching philosophy and encourages her students to question what they know about the world through critical thought in relating art to many subjects outside of the classroom. Learning another language has given Sarah the tools to teach a diverse student body that include international students. As a recent post-graduate with limited experience, Sarah has been given many teaching opportunities at various colleges. Sarah attributes the positive feedback on her applications to her experiences abroad and learning a second language.