Why I Choose To Teach

When I was a kid, I always thought that I would become an engineer. My father and my uncle are both engineers and have worked around the globe on different projects. I always thought that I would follow in their footsteps. In school I was always good at math; I was always one step ahead of my teacher. I took both the AP Calculus and AP Stats test my senior year and passed both of them with a 5. I went to CSU Bakersfield to study petroleum engineering.

My freshman year of college was nothing short of boring and uneventful. I was bored in my math classes and I was definitely not looking forward to becoming an engineer. Around the end of my freshman year I changed my major to music education after a lot of thought and conversations with my instrumental professor.

In addition to being great at math in high school, I was also an accomplished musician. I played multiple instruments and was a part of honor band, honor choir, all-state choir, and I held the drum major position for three years. I loved to help my classmates in the band and I would always jam out during lunch.

I realized how happy and fulfilling helping others made me feel. When I looked back at my fond memories in high school, I realized that teaching music was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Once I changed my major, I began to teach drumline and marching band at multiple schools so I could get teaching experience. I learned a lot from the multiple band directors that I worked under and I thank them greatly for the opportunity that they gave me.

I want to enrich the lives of young people through music in the Central Valley. Music is an art form that everyone can understand, no matter what language they speak. I want to give our students an outlet where they can expressive themselves through their voice or their instruments.