Beloved art teacher Mrs. Sarah Rojo is leaving Benjamin after eight years of teaching. She described how she has made such an impact on the lives of her students and peers and will miss them greatly.

“I will miss my daily interactions with the students. They inspire me daily to remain passionate about the subjects I teach,” she said. “Watching them learn and grow has been tremendously rewarding. I know that I have made a huge impact on my students and the school based on the feedback I have received over the years. My former students have reached out to me consistently each year to offer their thanks and appreciation for how my passion inspired their career decisions.”

Mrs. Rojo has decided to retire from teaching and fulfill her desire to become a full-time artist working in her studio.

“I plan to pursue my goals and aspirations by committing all of my time, energy, and resources to my artistic skill, passion, and expertise.”

Mrs. Rojo has had an incredible impact on her students throughout her years at Benjamin. Although only attending Benjamin for two years, Senior Samantha Sawyer has been in Mrs. Rojo’s various art classes and detailed her profound experience. 

“Mrs. Rojo is an incredibly helpful teacher and an inspiring mentor. From my first day in her classroom, she encouraged me to operate outside of the box and use materials and different subject matter I had never used before. Because of that, I was able to discover what and how I wanted to paint and create,” Sawyer said. “Mrs. Rojo is a role model for me and someone I look up to both as an artist and as a person. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to have Mrs. Rojo as a teacher and mentor, and I will forever hear her voice in my head when I paint!”

Chair of Fine Arts Department Ms. Melissa Ford describes the relationship her and Mrs. Rojo have developed while working together over the past eight years, and the impact that she made on her.

“Words truly cannot express how much I am going to miss Mrs. Rojo! Each of our lives have so dramatically changed over the course of our years together; she has been incredible support for me and I certainly hope I have been one for her,” Ms. Ford said. “Throughout the school year, we spend more time with our colleagues than families some weeks, so it feels like part of my family is moving away. Her enthusiasm as an artist and educator is inspirational not just to students but me as well. She has a unique ability to challenge students to produce exceptional work, while instilling the belief in students that they are more capable than they know.”

Ms. Ford will greatly miss Mrs. Rojo and expressed her fondest parting words for her.

“For the past eight years, Mrs. Rojo, Mrs. Osborne, and I have shared this little office and laughed, cried, listened, supported, and worked together in such an easy way. When you truly love working with your peers, it makes everything so much better. She is one of the best teachers I have ever seen and I wish her the very best of all life has to offer!”