Admirable Yamamoto & Rocky Balboa.

I only taught one time and that was as an adjunct English instructor at Fulton-Montgomery Community College (FMCC) in Johnstown. (More about that experience in a future post). One of my favorite students in my Freshman English II class was Michiko Yamamoto. Michiko, who grew up near Mt. Fuji in Japan, put everything she had into the class and spent hours in the writing lab improving her English skills. It wasn’t difficult to give Michiko an A in the class while giving Ds and Fs to some students who grew up speaking English.

Michiko was an art student and held her first art exhibit at the now defunct cyber cafe on Main Street in Amsterdam. My wife and I attended the exhibit, and while I am not an expert in art, I saw promise in Michiko’s work and purchased four paintings.

Michiko went from FMCC to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), where she has received many awards. They include The Pennsylvania Governor's Award, The Alexander Prize, The Benjamin Lanard Memorial Award, and The Color Woodcut Purchase Prize. Her work has improved greatly while attending there. You can view some of her work on her blog.

You can also view some photos of her with Sylvester Stallone.