Ryan Barrett was 18 years old when he decided to move from his hometown of Boston to San Francisco to attend SF State as a sociology major. Barrett found San Franciscans to be a bit casual and flaky. He could not count on people to keep a date, and he had a difficult time with the laid back culture until he met Mary Manulkin.

“I lived next door to Mary on Cole Street,” said Barrett. "We hung out every day, and we clicked automatically. We are both honest people and can count on each other."

They have been good friends for the last 13 years.

An SF State alumna, 30-year-old Manulkin graduated with a B.A. in art, and currently teaches art exploration and photography to students at Mount Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley. She has inspired, motivated, and opened up a new world of creativity and art in the young lives she interacts with each day. At a young age her aspirations in life were to become a photo teacher.

“While in high school I took my first photo class and was hooked,” said Manulkin. “At that point I knew I wanted to be a teacher.”

Manulkin, a Southern California native, wanted to live in San Francisco and thought it was a good idea to go to SF State to learn to be a photography teacher. After three years in the journalism department studying photojournalism, she transferred to the art department because she felt that art was something she wanted to pursue.

“I’m glad I have a mixture of both art and photojournalism,” said Manulkin.

She explained how the combination of both disciplines gives her the flexibility to teach a variety of styles and give assignments varying from photo essays to alternative processing. Manulkin still shares advice that SF State photojournalism professor Ken Kobre gave her about shooting portraitures.

“Ken Kobre had the students shoot photos of him to see how they interacted with the subject during a shoot," said Manulkin. "He was appalled that they all treated him like a 'piece of meat’ telling him what to do and where to go. He was really adamant about getting to know the person and asking them about themselves."

She recalls one story she covered about the Bill Graham memorial in Golden Gate Park during her studies at SF State, and she explained how she had a great time capturing all the emotions at the memorable event. It was there where she learned how to be a real photojournalist and overcome her shyness.

”Approaching people was the hardest thing for me to do in photojournalism,” said Manulkin.

Her experience in the art department was completely fulfilling. It was the place where she was meant to be. She met wonderful art professors Julia Marshall and David Kuraoka who were pivotal people in her career path and enforced the idea of teaching art. Overall, she credits SF State for giving her the discipline and confidence to continue her studies in art and her interest in becoming a teacher.

After leaving SF State, Manulkin went to Cal State Long Beach where she began her work toward a Master's in Fine Art. She described the program as grueling and intense, but it prepared her for a career as professional art teacher.

Upon receiving her single-subject teaching credential she returned to the Bay Area to start her first teaching position at Palo Alto High School. At Palo Alto she taught Beginning Photo and Advanced Photo.

Three years ago Manulkin left Palo Alto to teach photography at Mount Tamalpais High School. The art department at Mount Tamalpais is small, but it is an elaborate program, she said.

Students interested in art first take an art exploration course that determines their area of interest. Thereafter, they can go into photo, painting, or ceramics. Students also have the opportunity to earn college credit for their course work. Throughout the year students are given a chance to display their work at the Mill Valley Art Festival and many other community arts shows.

Chris Holleran, the principal of Mount Tamalpais High School, said in a recent interview that during his first meeting with Manulkin for the teaching position he was taken by her knowledge and depth of photography and art. He was also very impressed that she created her own instructions for kids, and he believed she was a highly qualified teacher. She was also willing to wait until after she had her baby to begin her position at the high school.

“She is good at multi-tasking and individual instruction,” said Lynn Klien, a draw and paint teacher at Mount Tamalpais.

Klein explains how Manulkin has a good way with the students and interacts with them well giving them individual attention and direction. They are inspired by her creativity and knowledge and like being around her.

Manulkin is part of a unique group of art teachers in the Mount Tamalpais Union School District, which includes Sir Francis Drake High School, who collaborate on improving the art program for their students in the school district. They work on special projects, lesson plans, and ideas. Manulkin has written several grants to receive funds for new equipment and improvements to the art and photo studios at the high schools.

“She has put a lot of energy into refurbishing and expanding her facilities, and she is dedicated to giving her students a wide variety of experiences,” said Kathy O’Brien, the art department chair at Mount Tamilpais.

Manulkin helped obtain numerous grants to improve Palo Alto and Mt. Tamalpais High schools. She received several grants for Palo Alto, including one sizeable one for 22 new enlargers which cost $600 to $700 each. This grant also included photo silkscreen and multimedia equipment for a total of $30,000. At Mount Tamalpais she received two grants totaling $20,000. She is currently applying for a third grant to expand the darkroom for 14 new enlargers.

Manlkin’s passion for teaching expands many other areas as well. While attending Cal State Long Beach she was a lifeguard and swim instructor and also taught at the YMCA and the Belmont Junior Aquatics Camp. She taught for two years at the Bikram Yoga College of India in the inner sunset and has been an avid practitioner for six years.

Besides being a teacher, co-worker, and collaborator she is also a friend. Barrett describes Manulkin as a very talented photographer.

“She gave me a photo of me when I was younger, and boy I looked like a rock star,” said Barrett.

He describes photography as playing a big part in Manulkin’s life. Her passion for photography coupled with her love of teaching has inspired confidence and creativity in others, he said. Barrett finds her an extraordinary person who is able to wear many hats and keep sane.

Barrett has since moved back to Boston and is an independent broadcasting sound engineer.

“She is mentally young at heart and always connected with the real world,” said Barrett.

Her web site, which documents the works of Palo Alto High School students, is posted at http://www-test.paly.net/~mkrawczy/ along with her teaching philosophy which she still strongly emphasizes to all her students.