Humans of St. Norbert:

“I got the call on April 2, way earlier than I expected to get a job. It's at Brillion Middle School. I was actually going through interviews for another school at the same time when I got the call. This position will be middle school band and a tiny hint of general music with 6th to 8th graders. I’ve been a band nerd since 6th grade, but I’ve always also enjoyed the general music side of things so having both kind of made my decision for me.

“It was probably towards the end of high school that I made the decision I wanted to go into music education. I knew I wanted to go into music pretty early on in high school, but it was just finding that route that seemed the best fit. Like everyone, I had lots of doubts throughout college wondering if it was the right path for me. Through the program at SNC, you have to put in observation hours and certain hours of contact with students. During those different experiences, I realized that working with students in education was what I wanted to do. It confirmed that I was on the right path, even if I didn't feel like I was ready for it. I’ve always loved learning. I’ve always loved helping people learn, even since I was little, teaching classes to stuffed animals. I’ve always been teaching in a way.

“There’s always that debate of: Should music be a part of schools? Should music be a part of the curriculum? As a musician, that's always something that I’ve come up against. I think music is one of those things that you can’t really put in a box. I think music is something that is core to being human. You can express yourself in a way that you can’t with other things. To fully experience music and participate in it, you have to be vulnerable and put yourself out there. You are presenting yourself when you perform music and it can also be a really good outlet for emotions. I know that if I am feeling sad or happy, or whatever I’m feeling, I turn to music to deal with what I’m feeling. Music is such a vital part of a person’s development and being human. So, I’m obviously a big proponent of music being in schools.

“As I enter my career, I’m excited to make connections with students. I’m excited to make music with students, to help them become passionate about music. And, also just to help students grow as people and make an impact on their life. Especially at the middle school age, that’s definitely a formative time in everyone's life. It sounds cheesy, but I’ve always had this thought that if I can make a positive difference in even one student’s life, then it will make my whole teaching career and everything leading up to this point worth it.”
– Madeline Pamperin ‘20