After graduating from URI with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education, Cynthia Kamp Galvin ’05 went on to earn a master’s in liberal studies from Stony Brook University in 2007 and a master’s in music education from Boston University in 2010. She is now a music teacher at the Amagansett School in Amagansett, NY.

Q. How did your URI degree best prepare you for your career path?

A. My Bachelor of Music in Music Education led me directly to my position in Amagansett, which I took shortly after graduation in 2005. I’ve used everything I learned during my time at URI to completely rebuild the music program in our PK-6 district form a small weekly “music class” to a robust General Music Program as well as Band, Choral, Strings, and Theatre Programs which are all mandatory for all of our students at different points in their elementary music careers.

In your opinion, what is the value of the arts both academically and in the community?

The arts are everything. They open windows into oneself and the world around us. They connect to everything and can be used as a venue to teach about nearly every topic. In today’s world, the arts serve as a powerful reminder that we are more the same than we know. Every culture in the world has always developed some sort of art, whether musical, visual, or theatrical, to express itself through because the arts are the great unifiers…..a language we can all learn and all understand.

What advice would you give to current students or to young people thinking of pursuing a Fine Arts degree?

Reach for the stars and follow your dreams. If the arts are where your heart is, follow and you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve!