A little bit about me:
I grew up in rural Iowa in a tiny farming town of less than 1,000 people. To this day, there are no stoplights or fast food restaurants, and the closest hospital is about a one hour drive away. I’m also an Xennial, on the cusp of Generation X and Millennial. I don’t generally like to be defined by such things, but I think the fact that I grew up in such a remote place before the advent of household computers, internet, and mobile phones is a pretty interesting fact. My connections to the outside world were through commercial television, magazines, radio, and art — from painting and drawing classes to theater and drama to music.
My mom was a pianist and played all the time, so I grew up in a house filled with music. She played everything: Chopin, musical theater and movie themes, Queen, etc. We used to listen to the Met Broadcasts on Iowa Public Radio. I told her one Saturday, at the tender age of 7 or 8, that I was going to be a great singer one day. While I did go on to earn an M.M. in Voice Performance from the Jacobs School in 2006 and I still enjoy singing very much, my drive for achieving musical “greatness” changed over the years. And that’s okay.
It used to bother me. I’d invested SO MUCH time and energy (not to mention money) into music — how could I let myself and everyone down by not continuing on the musician’s path? I really want to stress that nothing is lost, though. While I wish I’d better understood how to navigate the financial aid options, I’ve never once regretted pursuing music. It was what I needed at the time and I am a better person. The transferable skills learned through the study of music — practice, time management, collaboration, giving/receiving feedback, event planning, etc. — serve me well. I use them every day both in my administrative work and in my photography business.
What do I do at JSOM?
I am the administrative coordinator in the Departments of Musicology and Music Theory, two of the largest departments at the Jacobs School. I work with the faculty and graduate students pursuing MM, MA, and PhD degrees in both academic fields, as well as both graduate and undergraduate students in all programs. Basically, anyone who has a music history or music theory requirement — which is just about everyone!
I also help bring many special projects and collaborations into fruition. A few of my favorite past events are the “Hip Hop in the Golden Age” and “Four Generations of American Scholarship on Russian Music” conferences. I’m also coordinating two upcoming music festivals – “Charles Ives at 150: Music, Imagination, and American Culture” in Fall 2024, and “The Souls of Black Folk” in Fall 2025, both funded by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Personally speaking, though, the most important work I do — and I try to do it every day and in all aspects of my life — is in helping to create a healthy and inclusive culture. Sometimes this looks like participating in extra training and certification and sometimes it looks like just me in my office providing a safe and judgment-free space for people to be seen and heard.
My office is across from the main entrance to Auer Hall. Stop by and say hello sometime! (P.S. There’s usually chocolate!)
“Neither art nor life unfolds in linear fashion. Nor will your career or the project you choose within this course.” ~ Mark Rabideau (Creating the Revolutionary Artist: Entrepreneurship for the 21st-Century Musician)
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