Alumni Featured on Jennifer Hudson Show

Autumn Goodman, Class of 2016, has always had a passion for arts. While at Oaks Christian she enjoyed many of the art classes taught by Anna Wadman and other art faculty. She also has a great love for children, so it is no surprise that she has successfully combined these two focuses to become an elementary art schoolteacher in Orlando, Florida.

After graduating from Andrews University with a bachelor’s in fine arts, she worked at a Title 1 school during the COVID-19 pandemic as an interventionist. Her touch with children drew the attention of her principal, who knew about her art background, and she was tapped to be an art teacher. 

Not only is she a great teacher, she is also a social media influencer via TikTok. She uses the platform to share her “Day in the Life of an Art Teacher.” It has taken off with 5 million likes!

Her advocacy for using art to help underprivileged students caught the attention of a producer of the Jennifer Hudson Show. She was invited to the show during National Teacher Appreciation Week, and her segment recently aired.

“My hope is to be able to do art forever, In the future, I want to have a creative studio for kids who would otherwise not have access to art education in the summertime or afterschool program,” she shared with Hudson.

Due to lack of funding in public schools for art, Goodman often goes out of pocket to buy art supplies for her students or relies on donations. While on the show, Hudson shocked and surprised Goodman with a $10,000 gift from Cricut to help her fund her classroom work.

Watch the full interview by clicking here!