Erin Riggi: Finding Her Voice through Teaching, Art, and Faith

Ed.D Candidate Erin Riggi is embracing the Power of And

Erin is a devoted Italian Catholic mother, a studio instructor and art history teacher, a painter and ceramist, and now, thanks to insights gained through her graduate work, she is adding "leader" to her list of accomplishments

Erin Riggi has done many things over the course of her career, but she had never considered herself to be a leader. She is a mother, a studio instructor and art history teacher, a painter and a ceramicist, an accomplished speaker, and an artist. She has sat on art education committees and boards, juried art shows, painted murals with her students through outreach programs, and received awards for her work. Now, a student in the Executive Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership and Innovation program at Saint Francis University, Erin is finally realizing what has been true all along: she has always been a leader. Both as a mother at home with her family and as a teaching professional and working artist, she has taken charge of the things in her life and has accomplished more than she ever thought she would.

"My mother always told me, 'Make things happen. Don't wait for things to happen to you,'" Erin said. "I am most proud that I never gave up."

Through Teaching

When Erin first became a mother, soon after finishing her bachelor's degree in painting and art history at Seton Hill, she knew that her children would always be her top priority. She also understood that any art museum job she had always envisioned for herself was no longer in the cards, and she would have to let her career take a backseat for a while. Still wanting to put her degree to good use while providing her growing family with more financial stability, she went back to school to get her teaching certification and found a part-time position at Greensburg Central Catholic High School. Within a year, she had expanded the art department and launched the AP art history program, giving her full-time work and setting her on a new path to success.

Over the years, Erin continued to do her work as a studio artist and an art historian. Motherhood and her students at GCCHS helped her to feel empowered in her career. She returned to school to earn her master's degree in ceramics and later became the Education Director of the Geyer Performing Arts Center in Scottdale, PA. She has also been working as an AP Reader for the College Board, traveling to Salt Lake City each year, where she helps to score AP art history exams for students across the country. This year, she has been asked to sit on the Pennsylvania Arts and Humanities Standards Rewrite Committee, where she will contribute valuable insight into how art and art history are taught in schools all over the state.

Fueled by her love for art and her commitment to her classes at GCCHS, Erin has also volunteered her time to outreach programs in her community, including a mural on the outside of the Geyer Art Building, completed in part by her own students.

"It is really empowering for young people to see that they can have an impact," Erin said.

Her efforts to encourage and affirm her students have not gone unnoticed. In 2020, she received the award for Most Outstanding Secondary Art Teacher from the Pennsylvania Art Education Association, and in 2021 she was given the Teacher as Hero Award from the National Liberty Museum.

While still working full-time, and with her various obligations and commitments, Erin is now once again a student herself. But she has found that having peers at Saint Francis who understand the dedication needed to complete the Ed.D program while maintaining a professional career has been a blessing. Erin believes the hybrid program, which includes both online and in-person classes, provides its students with the tools they need to balance work, school, and life while also giving them the push they need to see it all through. She recently defended her dissertation, "Making a Masterpiece: Integrating Art History into Core Curriculum for Career and College Readiness," and will graduate with her Doctor of Education degree this May.

Through Art

While she considers herself to be an art historian, Erin has always devoted time to her personal work as an artist too, and her pieces have been featured in exhibitions throughout western Pennsylvania. Her art centers around the idea of gender roles, especially those of women within a family unit. Inspired by her own experiences as a mother, she pulls from historical art pieces to give life back to the women who were the center of objectification.

Erin is also an accomplished speaker. Drawing from her personal interest and educational background in art history, she has lectured on topics such as Abstract Expressionism, religious iconography, and the cultural perception of women in art. This spring, she will be a guest juror for an art show at You Are Here, an art gallery and art supply thrift shop in Jeannette, PA. Erin will personally select the "Juror's Choice Award" for the show, "Women in Art '26: No Kings, Just Queens."

As an artist whose creative and curatorial work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and art shows, Erin is now using her vision and talents to design a piece that will find a permanent home at Saint Francis. A member of the Aggiornamento 2023 Cohort in the Ed.D program, she was asked to design and lead the group's Legacy & Service Project, a mosaic art installation that will be unveiled on the top floor of the DiSepio Institute in March. This past year, members of the cohort have been collaborating on the mosaic image of St. Francis of Assisi, a reflection of the spirit of servant leadership and the transformative power of collective creativity.

Standing on the top floor of DiSepio there is a big window, which is basically a blank canvas, overlooking the woods and other buildings," Erin said. "I incorporated the actual window, and space outside with an elongated version of St. Francis on the left side, tying history and art together.

The mosaic will be dedicated and blessed during the group's Spring Residency. It will stand as a lasting tribute to the Aggiornamento Cohort's dedication, collaboration, and commitment to embodying the Franciscan mission of humility, service, and hope in all they do.

Through Faith

Raised Roman Catholic in a big Italian family, Erin's faith has always been very central in her life. She has dedicated her career to teaching at a Catholic high school, and she and her family attend Mass regularly. She has relied on her strong faith to guide her throughout her life, and she has always put her trust in God that she would end up where she needed to be. At Saint Francis, she has found a haven where she can grow spiritually and professionally.

"The Franciscans are just an uplifting group of people, embodying service above all else," Erin said. "Dr. [Tricia] McFadden has been amazing academically, and Dr. [Brennan] Thomas is an example of how to be a light in the world. She is so genuine and kind, and she really cares about other people."

Erin's family is also a top priority in her life, and everything she has done as a mother, a teacher, an artist, and a student has been possible because of the people around her. She and her husband often travel together, expanding their worldview and finding personal growth through different cultures and experiences.

"It's really important to work hard, but it's also important to play really hard too," Erin said.

While Erin is unsure of where her life will take her following her graduation from the Ed.D program this spring, she does want to use her experience and education to continue to expose others to new subjects through art. Whether it is museum work or higher education teaching, she wants to instill an appreciation for the arts in more people, something that she feels is lacking in our society and culture.

"It is a beautiful shift in my life. It's like the next chapter," Erin said. "I'm just going to trust in God enough, and when that opportunity is there, I will know that it is the right thing for me."

The Power of "And"

At Saint Francis University, we invite adult learners to embrace the power of and-to build new skills while honoring the experience, responsibilities, and goals they already bring to the table. Here, education isn't about starting over. It's about moving forward. Advancing your career and deepening your sense of purpose. Strengthening your professional expertise and expanding how you think, lead, and serve.