Introducing Ms. Mochon
The 2025-2026 school year has many new additions to the school staff, one of which is our new art and ceramics teacher, Ms. Kate Mochon. Coming from Maine, United States, Ms. Mochon has an impressive resumé, along with very interesting and intriguing experiences and hobbies. Having once served in the Peace Corps and taken a fellowship under National Geographic the previous year, Ms. Mochon is now teaching art at our very own Robert College.
Ms. Mochon teaches creative arts, prep art, L9 sculpture for the well-being curriculum, and ceramics at Robert College. With a Master's degree in sculpture from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, her goal in teaching is to "give back to the community." Having benefited from art education early on in her life, Ms. Mochon wants to present the same opportunity for young adults who are trying to find themselves artistically in the modern world. Up until this year, she was teaching art in Maine for underprivileged children, as a way of helping her community thrive.
One of the factors that drove Ms. Mochon to come to RC is her "fear of missing out" on life. She says she "wants to do as much as possible before she can't." With her daughter grown up, Ms. Mochon decided it was time to set sail for new winds and come to Istanbul, Turkey. An old colleague of Mr. Downs, she was waiting for the right time to come to RC as a teacher, and when the opportunity presented itself, she took it. She says she is "in love with" the campus, and that she is finding the feel and culture of the city mesmerizing.
When it comes to teaching art, Ms. Mochon prefers to focus on the process rather than the product. When measuring the quality of her students' work, she examines the story the work attempts to convey visually. If a student is genuinely interested in their work and is putting in the required effort, they needn't worry about being in Ms. Mochon's class.
Ms. Mochon is not only an art teacher, but also an artist and an explorer. While her main focus is ceramics and sculpture at Robert College, she is also interested in painting, textiles, and metalwork. During her short time here, Ms. Mochon has already begun seeking carpet makers and metal workers to study and learn from. She takes 20 to 30 km walks on weekends, going around sightseeing, and she is eager to experience all that Istanbul has to offer. She says she is intent on learning about new cultures and is trying to "take in as much as possible."
Just last year, Ms. Mochon completed a two-year fellowship for National Geographic, in which she documented the cultural traditions alongside the arts and crafts of indigenous people in Melanesia. Working digitally, which she doesn't like very much, she created educational videos for Augmented Reality glasses, which are available for viewing on National Geographic's website. A self-proclaimed "jack of all trades but master of none," there seems to be just about nothing Ms. Mochon cannot do.
Ultimately, for Ms. Mochon, life has a lot to offer. In our interview, she stated that she herself is very self-critical about her art. However, she believes that a lot of us are too harsh on ourselves, whereas we should "take it easy" and "look for the small moments where there is success." Artistic failure is very important, and if we get "so caught up with the end-product or the technique, sometimes [we] can silence [our] voice." Ms. Mochon said she thinks "we need to celebrate the things we do well, that we don't always take the time to as much as we should," perhaps not only about art, but also to life itself. All in all, Ms. Mochon is a great addition here at Robert College, and it is with certainty that she will have a fruitful and enjoyable career teaching here.
