Ms. Noorzay is Preuss’ well known art teacher, but she didn’t always work at Preuss. Ms. Noorzay was born in Ohio; then she and her family traveled to Afghanistan, her home country, and that’s where she grew up for most of her childhood. But, due to the invasion of the Russians, she and her parents migrated back to America.
Ms. Noorzay has traveled to many different countries including Germany, India, Pakistan, Iran, and most of the central states in the U.S. until she finally settled in San Diego. Before becoming Preuss’ art teacher, she worked at a fast food chicken restaurant in the San Fernando Valley.
Even though Ms. Noorzay graduated from UCSD, she wasn’t always planning to work at Preuss. In fact, she didn’t even know what Preuss was until one day, her daughter was scrolling through some job opportunities and came across Preuss. She then told Ms. Noorzay that she should work at Preuss since she didn’t have a job at the time.
“At first, I was hesitant, since Preuss was over an hour away from where I lived. But, I went to the interview and ended up getting hired!” Ms. Noorzay exclaims.
Ms. Noorzay’s art classes engage in many projects throughout the year. She is currently hoping to involve community partners to give her students a broader perspective on some project options. In January her class completed a backdrop for a concert that occurred at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center that was a collaboration with Art of Elan, a San Diego music group, doing a concert called “Death and the Maiden.”
Death and the Maiden was a play/concert about a woman named Paulina Salas, a former political prisoner in a Latin American country who was tortured and harmed by a man that her husband unknowingly brought to their home for more than 20 years.
This weekend, her art classes also collaborated with the La Jolla Symphony. Two of Preuss’s very own composers, Mauricio Salas (‘25) and Giselle Montufar (‘26), wrote music compositions under the theme corresponding to who the guest composer is in the symphony this season.
So far Ms. Noorzay is really enjoying her time at Preuss and isn’t in a rush to leave just yet.
“I’m glad that I listened to my daughter and came to this school, plus I’ve been wanting to be an art teacher for a while!” says Ms. Noorzay.
