Allen County Schools is welcoming Whitney McMahon as the new visual art teacher at Allen County-Scottsville High School (AC-SHS) . Although this will be McMahon’s first full year as a classroom teacher, she is already familiar with the school and its students after serving as a long-term substitute at AC-SHS during the final three months of the spring 2026 semester.
Originally from Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, McMahon attended Mt. Juliet High School before continuing her education at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). She graduated from MTSU in 2012 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, majoring in painting and minoring in sculpture. She is now pursuing a Master of Arts in Teaching degree at Western Kentucky University.
McMahon’s pathway into education came after a long and successful career in the hospitality and restaurant industry. She began working in restaurants at age 15 and gained experience in nearly every part of the business, including serving as a host, bartender, kitchen manager and general manager. She spent the first 10 years of her career in corporate dining before spending another 15 years working with independent and locally owned restaurants.
While she enjoyed the hospitality industry, becoming a mother and experiencing the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic led McMahon to consider a new direction.
“After the pandemic, I was ready to make a career change,” McMahon said. “I had become a mom, the pandemic hit, and it was time for a change.”
That new direction became clear after she volunteered with the Art2Dream 4-H art camp in Bowling Green. McMahon has now served as an instructor with the camp for the past two years.
“After volunteering at the Art2Dream 4-H art camp, I knew I had found my next career,” she explained. “I enrolled in WKU’s Master of Arts in Teaching program shortly afterward.”
As an artist, McMahon has always enjoyed sharing her knowledge and creating alongside others. She especially enjoys watching students develop ideas, make artistic decisions and discover abilities they did not know they possessed.
“I love seeing what students create and the decisions they make when making art,” she said. “I am very invested in the younger generation, and I believe in their ability to shape the world into the kind of place they want to live in.”
McMahon believes every student possesses creativity and potential. She sees the art classroom as a place where students can develop confidence, take appropriate risks and learn to express their individual voices.
“The art room is the best place to encourage and nurture future change-makers,” she said.
Students entering McMahon’s classroom can expect to make art, learn new techniques and enjoy the creative process. However, they can also expect to be challenged through a rigorous studio curriculum.
Students will study art history while developing critical-thinking, analysis and problem-solving skills. McMahon also plans to emphasize cooperation, community involvement, personal responsibility and the importance of maintaining a growth mindset.
“Even though it is art class and we will do fun, awesome things, this is a rigorous studio course,” she said. “Students will be challenged to grow artistically and academically.”
Projects will include drawing, painting, bookmaking, paper sculpture, digital art and exercises McMahon describes as “reading pictures.” Advanced students will have opportunities to explore printmaking, pen and ink, carving, painting, installation art, fiber arts, independent studies and other specialized areas.
McMahon is also dedicated to providing students with opportunities to share their work beyond the classroom. AC-SHS art students are scheduled to have an exhibition at the Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center during the month of November.
“I am very excited about this opportunity for our students and our school,” she said. “I am dedicated to having students exhibit their work and gain real-world experience and exposure.”
Her experience as a long-term substitute at AC-SHS gave McMahon an early look at the talent and potential of the school’s students. She quickly discovered that they were capable of completing lessons she had previously taught to college students and adults.
“What I learned the most is what creative students we have at AC-SHS,” she said. “They thrived on the lessons I taught to college and adult students, so I have overhauled my lessons and projects to bring a level of rigor that I know our students can rise to and thrive in academically.”
At the same time, McMahon understands that students enter the art classroom with different experiences, talents and skill levels. Her goal is not for every student to produce identical work but for each student to demonstrate individual progress.
“I focus on progress, not perfection,” she explained. “I do not expect all students to create the same masterpiece. I want them to grow their own individual skills to the best of their ability.”
McMahon said one of the greatest rewards of teaching is watching students work through challenges, learn from mistakes and recognize their own accomplishments.
“There is nothing better than watching a young person create, explore and stretch their mind, take risks, overcome failures and try again,” she said. “My favorite words to hear are, ‘I didn’t know I could do that,’ or, ‘Wow, I did that.’ There is nothing better.”
Away from school, McMahon lives in Bowling Green with her 7-year-old daughter, Sam, and their cat, Jinu. She moved to Bowling Green in 2014 and enjoys raising her daughter in southcentral Kentucky.
McMahon remains active as a working artist. Her current projects include pen-and-ink watercolor nature studies and low-relief metal wall sculptures. She also enjoys MIG welding and hopes to learn stick welding.
Her other interests include tent camping with her daughter, gardening, mindfulness meditation, reading, cooking, grilling and spending time outdoors. She also enjoys traveling, exploring new places and visiting museums around the world. Of the destinations she has visited, McMahon describes Switzerland as the most beautiful and Africa as the most fascinating.
While art eventually became her primary field of study, science remains another major interest. McMahon was once a double major in art and biology at MTSU before deciding to concentrate fully on art.
“Science is my hobby,” she said. “I still have a vial of strawberry DNA that I extracted in college, and I have a microscope set up in my personal art studio.”
After living in five states, McMahon said Kentucky stands out as her favorite.
“Kentucky is the most beautiful,” she said.
As she begins her first full year at Allen County-Scottsville High School, McMahon hopes to build a classroom where students feel supported, challenged and inspired. Through creative projects, demanding coursework and real-world exhibition opportunities, she wants students to discover not only what they can create but also what they can become.