Feature: Mrs. JoAnn Schilb

The middle of the circle during the finale of Monarch Madness? She’s there. Every Student of the Month recognition? You’ll find her there, too.

Mrs. JoAnn Schilb is the designated “fly on the wall” at Mitty as the Director of Creative Services—the head of photography, marketing, and graphic design.

In college, however, she “started as a biology major with a fine arts minor. . . I was taking printmaking and photography classes, and that kind of led me into switching my career path to going into graphic arts.”

Going into a career in the fine arts propelled her into countless opportunities, such as art director for ABC Television, creative director in MarComm (marketing and communications) at Apple, and a member of the late Mary Ellen Mark’s photojournalism workshop in Mexico. She also did portraiture of her own children in her free time. Her personal work led her to be hired for “day-in-the-life” kind of work at multiple South Bay private schools like Mitty.

So how did she end up at Mitty? She recalls that “a couple of alumni who are friends of mine saw the job listing at Mitty, and I was drawn to the position as it was a combination of graphic design and photography in a school environment.” Since “Mitty was always the school that Sophia (her daughter, ’22) wanted to go,” Mrs. Schilb decided to apply for the job and she was enthusiastically hired.

Starting her job at Mitty meant taking on a tremendous load of responsibilities, including Mitty Magazine, Admissions Brochures, Black and Gold gala, and the Lion’s Den apparel. She also captures Spirit Week festivities, headshots, and athletics.

Asked for advice for aspiring beginning photographers, she advises to observe other photographers’ work to start “because I think you intuitively start to compose your own photos better, and you start to see things a little bit differently.” Next time you see her on campus, make sure to greet Mrs. Schilb! Maybe you’ll end up included among the many other students who have graced the pages of Mitty Magazine.

All images taken by JoAnn Schilb.