Major: Music Education
Hometown: Warwick, RI
What makes the College of Arts and Sciences at URI unique?
The College of Arts and Sciences at URI is a truly special program. It allows all students to participate in a rigorous program that prepares them for life after college. Through this program there are numerous opportunities for outreach into the surrounding community and internships. The faculty is very dedicated to students and provides knowledge that help the students grow into successful professionals. In addition, there are numerous resources available to our students. In the College of Arts and Sciences no one tells you that you cannot do something or restricts you on what you want to be educated on. There are opportunities to add minors, double majors, and so much more to any course of study. As a music education student, I have seen the opportunities this program provides me with. Musicians in my program have been able to perform around the campus and share the music we create daily. The Big Band has been able to perform at the Pump House (a local music venue) and Newport Jazz Festival. Our Orchestra and Concert Choir had the opportunity to perform with the Warwick Symphony Orchestra and community musicians this past December performing a majority of Felix Mendelssohn’s oratorio, Elijah, at both the university and St. Timothy’s Church in Warwick. These opportunities to perform throughout Rhode Island are truly enriching and would not be available if our College of Arts and Sciences faculty did not believe so much in reaching out to the community. In addition, our education program focuses a lot on diversity and the belief that every human being should be given the opportunity to live an enriching life. I find this to be extremely important. The music program even created a committee dedicated to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility within our department entitled the IDEA Committee that I was able to be apart of. This commitment to connecting with the world outside the university and focusing on equal treatment of everyone is extremely important. It is awesome that the College of Arts and Sciences focuses on this. In the College of Arts and Sciences we definitely follow URI’s mantra “Think Big. We do.”
What accomplishments and/or activities are you most proud of while at URI?
There is so much that I am proud of about my time here at URI. I am proud that I was able to participate in a variety of our wonderful ensembles including the University Chorus, Concert Choir, Concert Band, Marching Band, Pep Band, the vocal chamber ensemble Lively Experiment, and the newly established treble choir Voce Excelsis. In the year 2018 I was chosen to travel with the University Pep Band playing alto saxophone at the A10 and NCAA tournament for URI Men’s Basketball. Nothing can compare to the feeling of helping pump up the crowd at a big tournament and watching your schools team succeed. Last semester, I was given the opportunity to be one of the founding members of the new treble choir, Voce Excelsis. In the 2017-2018 school year I was one of the first members of the newly established IDEA committee within the music department that is focused on making sure our department strives for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility for all our students, faculty, and anyone else entering our building. Some of the biggest accomplishments I am proud of from my college education is serving as our local NAfME (National Association for Music Education) collegiate chapter’s Vice President during the 2018-2019 school year and being this year’s recipient of the 2019 Edward Drew Memorial Scholarship. As the NAfME vice president, I was able to lead our chapter in various fundraisers, help set up our first annual Homegrown Workshop and Dr. Michele Holt Music Education Workshop Series, helped at audition days, and helped guide and work with students who are currently going through the music education program. As part of being the recipient of the 2019 Edward Drew Memorial scholarship I had an essay published in the Winter 2019 RIMER (Rhode Island Music Educators’ Review) which was super exciting for me since it is my first published work.
Who or what influenced your time at URI the most? How or why?
My own self driven desire to reach my dream probably is what influenced me the most. I have always been a self-motivated individual which I find to be one of my strengths because there is nothing more powerful than motivation from within. My dream is to be a music educator that gives students a similar experience to what I had when I went to school. I want to give my students a home within their school, a place to express themselves, and a way to find confidence and camaraderie through music. In addition, I want to have a program where students create, perform, and respond to music. This dream of myself conducting an ensemble or working with young students sharing something I love, has driven me to achieve in my college courses, ensembles, and work opportunities. However, of course, I could not do this alone. URI has provided me with great faculty that have helped me be able to strive to be the best I can be. Our faculty members range from amazing conductors known across the state to well-known music educators and successful performers. These professors have helped me grow as a musician and have guided me towards workshops, camps, jobs, and performance opportunities that have helped me develop myself as a musician and educator and have helped me discover more about what I am capable of and how I would like my career to look like in the future. Lastly, I owe a lot of my success at URI to my family and friends who have supported me through everything. Any time my self confidence has faltered or I have run into any problems related to either my education or my own personal problems; my parents, brother, extended family, and friends have pushed me to continue to try my best and helped me get back on my feet by reminding me of what I am capable of.