November/December 2022 Staff Spotlight: Lupy Cepeda

Lupy, short for Guadalupe, joined us from Chicago this summer. She is a first generation Mexican-American who was born and raised in a neighborhood coined “The Heart of Chicago.” She has her bachelors from Columbia College in Chicago with a focus on Graphic Design. After college, Lupy spent time working with the non-profit United Way doing freelance graphic design and event planning. Soon, she found herself in the Montessori classroom–where she later became Montessori certified to teach ages 6-12. Lupy also holds an Illinois state certifications for Bilingual Education and she also attended an intensive Intro to Secondary Education from CMStep in Ohio. Overall, Lupy has been teaching for eighteen years. 

In the classroom, Lupy has integrated her love and background in art into all she does. She says, “Having attended an art school, I have been able to bring in my passion for art into my work and have helped the children to create beautiful works by integrating projects into every facet of the curriculum.“ 

Lupy is also the proud mother of a University of Iowa Hawkeye. Her daughter is in her third year studying Psychology and Spanish and a gymnast for the university. As a parent, Montessori was the obvious choice for her daughter, too. She says, “I knew that I had found not only an educational ‘home’ for my child, but my path as well.”

Since arriving in Austin, Lupy has been enjoying the warm weather. She has been hiking and going on runs on the greenbelt, exploring local coffee shops, enjoying taking short weekend day trips, and creating art with her new iPad! And of course, enjoying all of Austin’s great food.

“I have enjoyed the opportunity to teach in our outdoor space at Headwaters. It has been a huge change from my inner city dwellings and a unique experience. I have witnessed how students at Headwaters truly appreciate nature and having an outdoor space to teach is a refreshing extension of our Montessori classroom. I knew Headwaters was a place I wanted to be a part of and continue my journey as a guide and Montessorian. Where there are happy children, there are great adults teaching them! I am so impressed by the love students at Headwaters have for learning and am happy to be a part of their continued growth and passion for learning.”