This year, on Swiss National Day (August 1), LAS art teacher and LAS alum Skye Fiedler '96 took matters into her own hands. Armed with free cans of paint from the dechetterie, Skye and her children marched to the Rue du Commerce in Leysin and covered a wall of graffiti that had long been an eyesore.

“The neighbors were looking down at us, and they were saying, ‘Oh my God, thank you.’”

Skye (like so many of our LAS students) identifies as a Third Culture Kid, shaped by both her parents’ heritage and the many cultures she experienced growing up abroad.

Though born in Colorado (USA), her childhood quickly became international. By age 5, she was living in Saudi Arabia, where her father Grant Fiedler served as Assistant Superintendent of the Saudi Arabian International School in Riyadh and her mother Jenny Fiedler taught math.

In 1990, her family relocated to Leysin, Switzerland. For the next eight years, her father Grant served as headmaster of LAS, and her mother Jenny led the math department. Skye and her brother both attended the local Swiss school until they were old enough to finally become LAS students themselves.

Even at young, Skye knew that teaching was her calling and that a global lifestyle was in her future.

“Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be an art teacher. And I've pursued my passion throughout the world.”

Skye's higher education journey took her across the world. At St. Olaf College in Minnesota (USA), she studied Visual Art Education and French Education, complemented by study abroad programs in Ecuador and Paris. She did her student teaching in Tokyo and a master’s degree in Curriculum and Teaching at Michigan State (which she completed in France)—all of these experiences further solidified her international teaching path. She later taught in Denver, Dubai, Moscow, Rifle, Dresden, and Qatar.

But even after a life of international moves, Leysin has always felt like home: “This is where I'm meant to be.” Ms. Fiedler moved back to Leysin in 2019 to teach at the school where she thrived as a student herself.

Her two children, born in Qatar and half Moroccan, have grown up in Leysin since infancy. Still too young for LAS, they currently attend local Swiss schools. Skye plans to let them decide their secondary school path, although the direction her heart leans is clear.

“LAS has a better art program than the local school system” said Ms. Fiedler. “It has amazing sports opportunities and it has a ski program that the local school touches on, but LAS fully indulges.”

Connecting students with the community is one of things that Skye loves best about teaching at LAS. She regularly rotates their artwork into public spaces, including the local medical clinic. 

Inspired by a project her parents led in Colorado (USA), she hopes to raise CHF 700 to purchase locally made metal cow sculptures, which would line the road into Leysin, welcoming travelers and promoting the town as an arts hub.

Graffiti removal is another deeply held conviction. 

“It has annoyed me for about 14 years,” she said. 

Skye has painted over graffiti on walls and sheds, removed tags from utility boxes with nail polish remover, and recently tackled a faded mural on a local commune building originally painted by her brother Brock ’99 and Blaise Hefti ’99 when they were children.

“My brother and Blaise worked on the mural as elementary-aged students.”

To breathe new life into the piece, Skye invited her children and some LAS faculty kids from the local school to paint over it. They drew inspiration from Austrian artist Friedensreich Hündertwasser and German painter Franz Marc. “Painting in the style of” is a technique Skye uses in her classroom to teach students about famous artists while developing specific painting skills.

Each year as summer fades into autumn, Skye turns her focus back to the classroom. She believes every student is inherently artistic and capable of creating unique work, with her role being to spark ideas, create the environment, and then step aside.

“My main focus is starting art on day one, within the first five minutes of the first class.” Her first project often involves “name art,” where students handcraft bubble or block letters.

“Kids are so used to computers, they don't actually know how to create art by hand anymore.” These foundational skills are applied to other school projects, from lettering posters for other classes to designing displays for the community. 

Through her teaching, Skye encourages students to view art not only as classroom work but as a tool to positively impact their surroundings and strengthen the bonds between LAS and the Leysin community.