It feels good because I’m accomplishing this degree. I have truly enjoyed my time at Southeast, and I am sad to leave the River Campus. It is a paradise for any artist, and I’ve realized how fortunate we are to have this facility while looking at other schools for my master’s degree.

During my junior year of high school, my band attended the St. Louis Regional Bands of America competition. This competition features top notch high school bands from the area. One band from Colorado took the field and by the end, I was in tears. It was an epiphany moment for me, and I finally realized how much music meant to me. Their moving show made me feel so many emotions. I already knew I liked teaching others through the A+ program and tutoring elementary students after school. At this point, it felt like music education was the way to go.

My most memorable competition would be my very first Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) competition. I originally asked Dr. Nicholas Kenney (assistant professor of horn) if I could compete in it for experience. I was struggling with relatively severe performance anxiety at the time and did not feel confident in my horn playing abilities. I had no expectations of actually placing. When I received the email about placements, it felt unreal. I got second, but that was proof to me I was capable of more than I thought.

I chose Southeast because I didn’t feel like I was just going to be a number. Dr. Kenney and Dr. Martin Reynolds (retired associate professor of music and director of bands) put so much effort into me before I had made a decision. At every other school, it felt like I was putting in the effort but not getting anything back – it felt like I was just a statistic they would use someday. At Southeast, everyone I ever met at the River Campus was so friendly and made it immediately feel like home. I felt like I, as an individual, mattered way more than any numbers at Southeast. The faculty has since been amazing, and I am so lucky to have them in my life.

I feel like I got a lot of experiences that other undergraduate students would not get at other schools. Most semesters I was playing in multiple large ensembles as well as taking all necessary music/education classes, along with my personal practice and any chamber work. The undergraduate music program students truly go through a lot to make things happen, and it makes us better prepared for things outside of Southeast because we can handle so much. Most people don’t know, but a lot of music majors will take 18-21 credit hours every semester. And, the ensembles meet anywhere from 4-6 hours a week plus additional performance times but are only shown as one credit hour. I’ve been prepared to work hard wherever I go after Southeast.

I felt that this could be a good path for multiple reasons. First, if I can play my horn better and practice being a better performer, then I can also be a better teacher. The saying is that your students are only half the performer that you are as a teacher. I would also like to simply work on myself as a musician and get more experience on the performance side of things to possibly open the performance career route. Second, I’ve noticed a lot of K-12 schools like teachers to have their master's degree. Third, this degree puts me one step closer to my end goal of teaching at the collegiate level. I am looking forward to becoming an even better musician and really putting my work out there in competitions and any other solo performances. It’s not easy being a performer as an education major because of all of the classes you have to take. I’m excited to practice more than ever before in this degree.