Mrs. Emily Sgrignoli joined the OLSH faculty in 2018 as the Art Teacher, bringing with her more than 8 years experience.

Emily attended Center High School in Beaver County and went on to receive both her B.S. in Art Education and her BFA from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  She also holds an Art Certification K-12.

During the summer of her sophomore year, Emily took some art classes with prominent Beaver County artist, Carol Begley.  “From there,” she said, “I was drawn into the art field because it felt so right”.  Once she discovered art, Emily knew she wanted to teach and inspire students.  It was during her student teaching with the Penn Trafford School District that she found herself connecting with high school students.

After college, Emily and her husband moved to the Washington, D.C. area and began teaching in the Prince William County Public Schools.  Emily worked at the Woodbridge Senior High School, Center for Fine and Performing Arts for four years.  In addition to teaching, she also auditioned students for placement at the school.

Emily and her husband then learned of opportunities to teach abroad and started exploring their options due to their mutual love of travel.  They accepted positions at a Christian school in Seoul, South Korea.  There, Emily taught AP Studio Art to high school students and ran an after-school ceramics enrichment program with the elementary students.

While living in South Korea for two years, Emily enjoyed the opportunity to travel frequently.  She was able to see the other side of the world and better understand their culture.

Emily was very excited to be hired at OLSH and remarked, “God has led me to all my positions”.  Emily researched many schools in her job search and discovered that OLSH was very much attuned to the arts.  “OLSH has a genuine spirituality infused in all school activities”, she noted.  Emily feels that the freedom to teach faith-based ideas to her students in her position makes a difference in their development as artists and as people. 

“I would like to keep the quality of art education that has always been here at OLSH” Emily said.  But she is also working to build on that strong foundation.  Emily has submitted curriculum for an AP Studio Art course to the College Board and hopes for approval to offer it at OLSH soon.

Outside of school, Emily and her husband enjoy various nature activities including hiking and camping, as well as spending time with their friends and family.