It takes courage to fight injustice and introduce new ideas to a community. But Washington State art teacher Shawne Johnson, who experienced homelessness as a child, has courage. Heaps of it. Johnson’s drive to help at-risk populations and address injustices stems from her childhood.

Her parents were transient, and the family was homeless for half of her upbringing. They lived in their car for a few months before it was repossessed and would periodically end up sharing other people’s homes. She remembers being scared all the time. Johnson knows what it’s like to be the new kid that doesn’t fit in. She knows the pain of being singled out for your differences.

Originally from rural Washington, Johnson spent her twenties creating art and advocating for vulnerable groups. In order to make a living doing what she loves, she pursued a teaching degree. Now she uses art to help her students advocate for themselves. Whether using art to teach her Port Angeles High School classes to take pride in their cultural inheritance or exploring diversity through service-learning, Johnson is not afraid to make an impact on her students and community.

Her struggles have helped her empathize with outcasts and outsiders, so often the kids that pass through her art classes. Her experiences make her less willing than her peers to back down when she sees inequality and discrimination. Johnson uses her classroom to address the issues of diversity and inclusion that affect the community.

As the gateway to Olympic National Park, Port Angeles has a million breathtaking acres of protected wilderness in its backyard. It’s one of the most beautiful regions in the U.S., but one that Johnson says suffers from endemic drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence and discrimination. Many of Johnson’s own students live in foster homes. Some have never met their mother or don’t know who their father is.

In her introductory art course, she has students research their cultural heritage and create images that represent their backgrounds. She is careful to tell them that their cultural inheritance comes from the people who are caring for them—that’s their family. Johnson’s goal is to help students value different cultures by exposing them to the diversity that exists around them. She also hopes that they will take pride in their own heritage. Many of her students have been bullied for their race, sexual orientation or lower economic status, and don’t feel safe or accepted at the school. It’s why Johnson helped her students plan an assembly to examine critical issues that affect the school, such as diversity and inclusion.

The assembly featured presentations on the rights of women, Indigenous peoples and immigrants, as well as anti-racism movements. Each speaker, singer and poet that took part was a member of the marginalized community their performance highlighted. Johnson says the assembly was one of the most impactful moments of her career. Despite a few setbacks that arose, her students persevered with their plans—seeing them proud of their work made every hurdle and headache worth it to Johnson.

“If we don’t actively say what we believe as often and as loudly as we possibly can, then somebody else is going to step in and take up that space,” says Johnson. To help support her valuable work, Johnson received a $500 Walgreens WE Teachers award to purchase much-needed school supplies for her classroom. The grant will enable her to provide students with the resources they need to take on new creative projects.