Help Me Go to Grad School!
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The language of music is a powerful force. As a young college student, I realized this power in significant ways: an emotional performance of a great choral piece, a solo sung in a holy place, directing an ensemble to bring an audience to tears. These experiences filled me with a deep-seated need to pass this potentially powerful language on to others. While performance will always hold my heart captive, I could not in good conscience do nothing with the opportunity to educate others with this wonderful gift. After receiving my B.S. in Music Education from Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, TN, I was offered my first teaching job, and I jumped in head first.
I began my teaching career in Honolulu, Hawaii. There, I fell in love with the culture and people of this wonderful island paradise. Quickly, the school community embraced me as one of their own, a member of their ‘ohana. Incorporating my newfound knowledge of the ancient traditions of the Hawaiian people, I consistently offered engaging classroom lessons, as well as musical and theatrical productions. Students thrived and strived for excellence during the preparations and performances. I was also present for a part of the WASC accreditation process of this small private school. I contributed to a team of teachers, administrators, and school board members that created the school’s vision statements and school-wide learner outcomes. I also developed a unique music curriculum during my time there. This opportunity gave me unique and exceptional experience in my field of expertise.
From there, I moved to China to experience a new culture and a new way of using this universal language. In my position as Foreign Trainer with Disney English, I creatively planned and taught from a set EFL curriculum for ages 3 to 12. In the time I spent in this position, I provided effective classroom management, creative lesson plans involving music, detailed student evaluations and highly praised instructional delivery and administrative assistance. Outside of my normal classroom duties, I founded and grew the center’s Conversation Club, an innovative program that gave the students extra time with instructors and peers to use their language skills. Other centers implemented the curriculum I created to establish their own clubs. The program continues to be a popular club with the students and the parents. Music was a major tool in my toolbox here. It amazed me on a daily basis how music brought the students’ learning to a higher level like no other technique I employed. This realization intrigued me, and the next step in my career led me even further down this path of finding the connections between learning, music, culture, and language.
Although I enjoyed my tenure at Disney English, I decided to pursue other professional paths. I am currently a Music Specialist at Tusculum Elementary School in Nashville, TN. It is a very diverse community, with students from all around the world. The school population includes families from Nepal, Egypt, Southeast Asia, Mexico, and the Middle East. This diversity of culture has furthered my interest in how music reaches across all languages and lifestyles. Music is a significant daily influence on these students, and we learn much through our lessons together. I am student and teacher in this role, with daily revelations concerning the powerful connections students can make using the tools they learn through music. I have worked closely with my peers in planning and curriculum development. I continue to receive high marks in all of my state-required administrative evaluations. This position has offered many insights into my role as an instructor and as a pupil. It has influenced my decision to continue my education along this path.
As a student, I experienced the language of music through compelling performing experiences. I had many opportunities to perform at the college level in advanced choral ensembles. These occasions took me to Europe, performing in major cathedrals such as St. Peter’s in Rome, St. Stephen’s in Vienna, and Notre Dame in Paris. I sang under the renowned composer and conductor, Eric Whitacre, at Carnegie Hall in New York City. I had the unique honor of conducting and singing with a chamber a cappella ensemble, the Trevecca Madrigalians. I served as head student conductor and president for 2 years. After college, I co-founded an alumni group of similar style, SONUS. We are currently preparing for our third major performance on campus at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, TN. Choral music has provided me with many experiences that I would love to recreate for students in my teaching career. Potential for performance opportunities is a large factor in my choice of higher education as well.
That is why I am thrilled to accept an offer to further my education at the Frost School of Music in Miami. It will be an honor to serve a program that maintains high educational standards and provides students with opportunities for professional and personal growth. I am impressed by the published research by the faculty members, namely Dr. Carlos Abril’s research concerning the sociocultural impact of music. The Frost School’s involvement in the community is also a large factor in my excitement about this program. My goal is to eventually earn a Ph.D. in Music Education in order to acquire a position as a university professor. Empowering and equipping university students with the tools to provide an excellent music experience is worth more than I can put into words. I am planning to focus my research on the connections between music, culture, and the unique brain connections it can bring about to promote higher order thinking.
Music has a way of speaking to students like nothing else, of this I am convinced. I am eager to join the Frost program and continue my educational and professional journey.
While I am eager to start this new chapter in my life, going from a full-time salary with benefits and health insurance and paid sick days and all of those wonderful things, to NONE of that will be one of the most risky and scary deicisions of my life. So I'm humbly, so very humbly, asking you to consider supporting my journey; with your prayers, with your thoughts, with your love, and if you feel so inclined, with your hard-earned money. I would be eternally grateful for any of these gifts. Send me a message on Facebook to hear more of my story. I'd love to share it with you!
God bless you all for your love and support.
I began my teaching career in Honolulu, Hawaii. There, I fell in love with the culture and people of this wonderful island paradise. Quickly, the school community embraced me as one of their own, a member of their ‘ohana. Incorporating my newfound knowledge of the ancient traditions of the Hawaiian people, I consistently offered engaging classroom lessons, as well as musical and theatrical productions. Students thrived and strived for excellence during the preparations and performances. I was also present for a part of the WASC accreditation process of this small private school. I contributed to a team of teachers, administrators, and school board members that created the school’s vision statements and school-wide learner outcomes. I also developed a unique music curriculum during my time there. This opportunity gave me unique and exceptional experience in my field of expertise.
From there, I moved to China to experience a new culture and a new way of using this universal language. In my position as Foreign Trainer with Disney English, I creatively planned and taught from a set EFL curriculum for ages 3 to 12. In the time I spent in this position, I provided effective classroom management, creative lesson plans involving music, detailed student evaluations and highly praised instructional delivery and administrative assistance. Outside of my normal classroom duties, I founded and grew the center’s Conversation Club, an innovative program that gave the students extra time with instructors and peers to use their language skills. Other centers implemented the curriculum I created to establish their own clubs. The program continues to be a popular club with the students and the parents. Music was a major tool in my toolbox here. It amazed me on a daily basis how music brought the students’ learning to a higher level like no other technique I employed. This realization intrigued me, and the next step in my career led me even further down this path of finding the connections between learning, music, culture, and language.
Although I enjoyed my tenure at Disney English, I decided to pursue other professional paths. I am currently a Music Specialist at Tusculum Elementary School in Nashville, TN. It is a very diverse community, with students from all around the world. The school population includes families from Nepal, Egypt, Southeast Asia, Mexico, and the Middle East. This diversity of culture has furthered my interest in how music reaches across all languages and lifestyles. Music is a significant daily influence on these students, and we learn much through our lessons together. I am student and teacher in this role, with daily revelations concerning the powerful connections students can make using the tools they learn through music. I have worked closely with my peers in planning and curriculum development. I continue to receive high marks in all of my state-required administrative evaluations. This position has offered many insights into my role as an instructor and as a pupil. It has influenced my decision to continue my education along this path.
As a student, I experienced the language of music through compelling performing experiences. I had many opportunities to perform at the college level in advanced choral ensembles. These occasions took me to Europe, performing in major cathedrals such as St. Peter’s in Rome, St. Stephen’s in Vienna, and Notre Dame in Paris. I sang under the renowned composer and conductor, Eric Whitacre, at Carnegie Hall in New York City. I had the unique honor of conducting and singing with a chamber a cappella ensemble, the Trevecca Madrigalians. I served as head student conductor and president for 2 years. After college, I co-founded an alumni group of similar style, SONUS. We are currently preparing for our third major performance on campus at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, TN. Choral music has provided me with many experiences that I would love to recreate for students in my teaching career. Potential for performance opportunities is a large factor in my choice of higher education as well.
That is why I am thrilled to accept an offer to further my education at the Frost School of Music in Miami. It will be an honor to serve a program that maintains high educational standards and provides students with opportunities for professional and personal growth. I am impressed by the published research by the faculty members, namely Dr. Carlos Abril’s research concerning the sociocultural impact of music. The Frost School’s involvement in the community is also a large factor in my excitement about this program. My goal is to eventually earn a Ph.D. in Music Education in order to acquire a position as a university professor. Empowering and equipping university students with the tools to provide an excellent music experience is worth more than I can put into words. I am planning to focus my research on the connections between music, culture, and the unique brain connections it can bring about to promote higher order thinking.
Music has a way of speaking to students like nothing else, of this I am convinced. I am eager to join the Frost program and continue my educational and professional journey.
While I am eager to start this new chapter in my life, going from a full-time salary with benefits and health insurance and paid sick days and all of those wonderful things, to NONE of that will be one of the most risky and scary deicisions of my life. So I'm humbly, so very humbly, asking you to consider supporting my journey; with your prayers, with your thoughts, with your love, and if you feel so inclined, with your hard-earned money. I would be eternally grateful for any of these gifts. Send me a message on Facebook to hear more of my story. I'd love to share it with you!
God bless you all for your love and support.
Organizer
Melissa Eick
Organizer
Nashville, TN
