Faces Of New Bedford – #53: Rosannette Rivera

Meet Rosannette Rivera, 30-year old painter and teacher at New Bedford High School.

Rosannette was born in Puerto Rico but spent the first 12 years of her life in Central/South America and the Caribbean, as her father was a missionary who worked throughout these locations. Due to her families’ appearance, most people thought they were American, which caused hostility from the locals where they traveled. This caused Rosannette to spend a great deal indoors, where she went to drawing and other forms of art for refuge.

After her father’s service, they moved to the US and had a brief stay in New Jersey before they settled in New Bedford. Although she never expected to take art seriously, as she thought that you couldn’t find a future working in it, she met Ms. Riley at NBHS, who changed her view completely. She showed her the power art held to communicate and express things to people from any walk of life.

With the inspiration she received from her classes, she graduated and pursued a degree in Fine Art and Art Education at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She began teaching art at Roosevelt middle school where she came across students who were living through extremely unfortunate circumstances. She used her position to be able to show those students how to use art as she had during her childhood and overcome their situations.

This has only continued to her current teaching position at New Bedford High School, where she is able to impact students at the most pivotal time of their lives, just before they journey off into what life has before them. Her hope is that she can continue to show her students what art became to her when she was in their position, and move on with a better appreciation and literacy for art.

“It’s not about pretty, it’s about taking the necessary steps to get better in the future.”

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