Before teaching professionally, I was on the path to ministry overseas, wanting so much to make a meaningful, lasting impact on kids' lives and believing that was the way to do it. Then, with an unexpected phone call from my old high school principal, asking me to come be the band director at my alma mater, my eyes were opened to a beautiful reality: I could make an even greater difference sharing the music I know and love most with kids right here in America.

I think it is happening right now! After 20 years of teaching music, my current principal asked me to take on the theatre department at our school. My students and I are preparing to perform "The Sound of Music" in May, and what a wild ride it has been! There is so much to think about. And yet, my students are helping me so much, thinking like amazing young adults and taking ownership to make this show something truly special. I am so proud of them!

At the end of this year, I will be inheriting the old band room at our school. I currently teach not only choir and theatre but also gifted education, a STEAM-based endeavor challenging bright students to think creatively and critically. I would love to transform this large room into a "creativity lab", merging technology with students' limitless creative abilities! It would enable musicians to compose, thespians to experiment, future engineers to envision, and all of them to collaborate.