Bachelors of Music Education @ Lionel Hampton School of Music, University of Idaho

Music is one of the many tools a mentor can employ to teach self-discipline, life lessons, and create healthy habits and mindsets to foster success in the futures of their students.

This is my personal philosophy of music education and is my primary motivator in choosing teaching as a career. I am always searching for opportunities and experiences to better myself. Despite my hours spent in sports, academic competitions, and community service projects, music has always had the biggest impact on my character.

Music allows students to give as much effort as they are willing, while still maintaining a fun environment for them in which to grow. Behind every strong music program is a teacher who has the commitment to cultivate a healthy music community for their students thrive within. It was music teachers with strong character traits that inspired me to follow suit. Simply put, if it only takes one highly motivated individual to improve the wellbeing of a member of the younger generation, then why not be that individual? That is a belief I hold to remind myself everyday why I chose this pursuit.

The motivation for teaching music originates from a foundational love for music itself, which is why I still relentlessly pursue performing opportunities. As a classically trained bassist with an appreciation for all types of music, I have the ability to join any performance setting such as musical theater, orchestra, jazz, blues, R&B, and bluegrass. I feel comfortable singing and playing bass in any of these settings and would be able to recreate these settings in the classroom. When the time comes that students wish to seek music outside the standard repertoire of the classroom, I feel confident in my abilities to guide them to new avenues based on the foundation I hope to give them.