in the following pages i will tell a story. this story is mine, but it is also others’. with this narrative i will recount the journey and people that took me to where i stand now. i will discuss how i found myself in the place to develop a portfolio, and focus some attention on the decisions that shaped each piece. i will discuss the reasons i came into the research and the steps i undertook to complete this project. while it will not always be chronological, this narrative will follow a logical string of events to demonstrate how the pieces of this project naturally came together. i invite you to join me on this journey as a researcher, educator, and life long learner. this narrative must acknowledge the end, where i am now, to provide a road map that has allowed me to reach the finish line of this story. my portfolio project for my masters degree, entitled arts4socialjustice, compiles three artifacts that i developed over the course of roughly two years. this happened while completing course work through lakehead and working alongside talented scholars prominent in their field. the three artifacts i have developed over the last two years that make up this portfolio include a literature review, a conference presentation, and a web 2.0 resource manual. each of these pieces combine together to demonstrate how arts learning and social justice learning can coincide almost seamlessly, helping teachers better address the needs of diverse classrooms on a regular basis.