Looking at Life Through a Different Lens

If you’ve ever wanted to look at life through a different lens, you might want to consider getting to know FCHS teacher Amanda Clements.

Clements grew up in Charlottesville with her mother, father, and younger sister. She went to Longwood University and majored in Art Education while minoring in Graphic Design. “I loved how small Longwood was. I didn’t have to catch a bus to get to class. I did not like how they didn’t have any decent coffee spots until I graduated, though. Still salty about that,” Clements said.

She played volleyball–mostly outside and the right side–for 10 years throughout middle school, high school and college. “I was on the Club team and we were pretty good. Not as good as some of the bigger colleges we played, but it was still a lot of fun traveling to different colleges and having a group of girls that were like your family when you are away from your actual family,” Clements said. “It was run very similarly to a sorority with a lot of philanthropy events and raising money on top of just playing volleyball,” she added.

Clements has been teaching for seven years. She teaches three classes: Photography, Computer Graphics and Art. “I wanted to be a graphic designer and work in advertising before I became a teacher,” she said. “I always loved kids, but I tried to be a business major and failed, majorly. I was already in a few art classes at the time and decided to go the route of teaching instead.” she added.

Watching students use their creativity and think outside the box is something Clements really enjoys about teacher. However, she does have some problems with some students, “One, if you do not like to draw, don’t sign up for Computer Graphics. That’s like, half the class. Two, you will never fail an art class as long as you try,” she said.

Clements’ life motto is “The mind is everything…what you think, you become.” She explained that “This Buddhist quote really has helped me with all my times of transition: high school to college, becoming an adult, [and] new jobs.”

Outside of school, Clements enjoys hanging out with her family and her six-month-old daughter, Quinn. She owns two dogs, Ruby (a beagle) and Conner (a Labrador retriever), as well as a cat called Beauregard. Her favorite foods include Shakshuka, an Indian breakfast, and any kind of taco. Her favorite season is fall because she loves pumpkin spice lattes and Thanksgiving food.