By Vaughn Bui
To be met with a room of sugar-rushed children eager to draw—it’s something many would consider a disaster to deal with.
But to Cassidy Mai, it’s not about surviving: it’s about transferring their bright energy to create extraordinary art.
Mai has been making art since her elementary days and at an art school called the Saigon Art Academy. While doing her own rigorous lessons, the laughter and energy of the students in the other classrooms ignited Mai with a burning passion to use her skills to help them.
To do so, Mai took the opportunity to volunteer as a teacher’s assistant at the academy, lending a helping hand to the academy’s principal and various teachers’ rowdy classes.
“The teacher walks through how to draw the figure step-by-step. As an assistant, I walk around and help those struggling with the right shapes, positions and sizing. I teach them how to correct their work and encourage them to keep going,” Mai said.
During the week, Mai assists hands-on with a total of four classes and often faces a challenging problem: unmotivated and bored students who see no purpose in doing their work. To her, the mission is not merely to tell them to move on to the next step but rather to reassure them to have fun first while making their work truly original.
Whether it’s done through encouraging them to add a wonky-looking animal, video game character or silly words, Mai gives the students the little push they need to make their work remarkable.
“I can see their sly grins as they draw something silly, and then after, I hear laughter erupt as they show their creation to the class. To see kids get happy over something they deemed minuscule or insignificant makes me more hopeful and appreciative,” Mai said.
Having grown up in a heavily populated Vietnamese community, Mai highlights the importance of self-expression and sticking together, which can be done through art. She believes the Saigon Art Academy provides a place where kids from all backgrounds can come, draw and play together which, to her, is essential in a world where she emphasizes academics are often prioritized over art and self-expression.
Mai has also earned the occasional opportunity to teach some classes as a main teacher. To become exposed to lesson planning and time management, but to ultimately make a fun and engaging class are skills Mai emphasizes. With Mai’s focus on helping the children express their creativity, she attributes it to one of her role models—an old teacher who had given her the inspiration to pursue art.
“The one who changed my life the most was Ms. Jenny [a former art teacher at the academy] … I can’t thank her enough for making me the artist I am today. She loved each of her students like family … She understood that connections build creativity, and that creativity expanded our art skills. Every time I assist a class, I try my best to continue her legacy,” Mai said.
To allow children to create works they value and cherish is what Mai loves. To see them walk into class eager to learn fills Mai’s heart with joy. To see her younger sister, who is also a student there, well, that’s just a bonus.
“Every week she walks in with a wide smile, asking me what we are drawing next,” Mai said. “And every time I answer, it makes me smile too.”
