Two years ago, I decided it was time to go back to school and get the education I needed to strengthen the gift I have been given. I'm not your typical student. I was 45 years old, married, and homeschooling three teenagers. About three years before I started, I was teaching outside of the home, and I started getting the itch to do more with my gift, which is music. I didn't know what that would look like, especially with three children and a mortgage, but I took a leap of faith and enrolled. My kids were very supportive of my decision. They told me I had given them so much over the years and that it was time for me to do what I wanted to do. That was definitely a nudge in the right direction. At that time, I had graduated one child who was attending Cape Fear Community College. My second oldest was also attending CFCC as a dual-enrolled high school senior, and my youngest was just starting high school and thriving in an internationally accredited co-op program. During this time, I took seven credit hours, leaving me time to follow up on my youngest child's assignments and still teach him algebra. Homeschooling was never in my plans. I was sacrificing a paycheck and a career. My husband and I knew that every co-op tuition fee, registration/enrollment fee, pencil, book, field trip, sports equipment, etc., was now on our dime and we budgeted carefully. It was worth it in order to tailor their education, learn at their own pace, spend time with our children, and give them a large community of others that valued flexibility, character, and teaching our future generation how to learn. Often, they would ask how my day went, how my performance went, attend performances, and encourage me when I was worried about how I did on a test or performance. CFCC was just the beginning. I auditioned for the School of Music at UNCW and got accepted. It's funny how, now, they are my cheerleaders. Being a student while they are also students has been challenging. There have been a lot of late nights studying and practicing, fitting in my son's math lesson and checking over his work right after a heavy music theory class, driving him to activities, studying in the car while I waited for him to come out of karate class, filling out forms, listening to them talk about their day, and a few burned dinners. Yet, they never complained (at least not to my face). All I have to do is ask, and they step in with an extra chore. Sometimes they even pick up a broom or clean a bathroom without being asked. I think it is a great lesson for my kids to see mom go after her dream. I think one of the greatest (and hardest) things about being a parent is practicing what you preach. They watch me manage my time and my attitude. They are listening and watching me research scholarships, meeting with advisors, attending summer school, and enthusiastically sharing what I'm learning with them. They see me tired but working anyway. They see me do things I don't want to do but do it anyway, like balance the checkbook or get the oil changed. They witness me take Sundays off to rest my body and mind from a busy week. I'll always be parenting, at different levels as they age, but the rewards of parenting them so far are what's giving me the courage, time, and confidence to continue my career path.

Huey Lewis and the News is who made me to get into music. He inspired me to learn an instrument so, in late elementary school, I took piano lessons. I grew frustrated with my slow progress reading notation, so I switched to percussion in middle and high school, becoming one of the few female percussionists around. Music was definitely where I shined, earning a spot on the high school drum line while I was still in the eighth grade (some of the best years of my life). Unfortunately, a heartbreaking change in our music program occurred and I left music halfway through high school. At 18, I didn't know what to do with my life. I just knew I had to support myself, so I went to college and got a get a degree in Elementary Education. I taught in public school for several years but quickly realized I was in the wrong profession. It was the wrong subject matter, wrong personality fit, and wrong age range. Eventually, I got married, and after having my first child during the school year, my husband, newborn, and I relocated to another state. I became a stay-at-home mom, and it was the best job ever. Two more kids later and we decided to homeschool. I never thought I'd ever say those words but teaching your own kid is a completely different ballgame and deserves its own essay. I have graduated two children that have gone on to college and my youngest is a rising junior and will dual enroll at the local community college. During these years, I felt a calling back to music. In my free time, I taught myself piano, guitar, banjo, and ukelele. I progressed enough to play for my church's worship team as a guitar player. A year or two in, I realized I remembered enough piano to start playing it regularly. One song turned into two and two turned into me going back to school. At 45 years old, I began taking music classes at my local community college (Cape Fear Community College) in hopes of learning the skills I needed to pass an audition at UNCW. A year and a half later, I auditioned and passed! I start in the fall of 2026, a week shy of turning 48. My goal is to receive a bachelor's degree in general music with a minor in Jazz Piano. I plan to pursue a master's degree in music theory and composition and teach in a community college or university. University teaching will require a doctorate, but I'm not opposed to going that far if I decide to teach at that level. I've always connected with musicians. I hope to share my love of knowing what makes us like music and its impact on our history. I hope to teach musicians how to create the sounds they want. I want to inspire anyone of any age to pursue learning an instrument and to play at whatever level brings them joy. Scientific research proves the power of music, and I think anyone that has any interest in it should be given the chance to learn more about it. I also hope to advocate for more music programs in the public school system. This scholarship will help ease the burden of my student loans. My husband is still paying for his college education so I want to do all I can to not add to that financial burden. In addition, we are still recovering from a recent job loss a year ago, so every bit counts.

As a wife and mom of one teenager and two young adults, balancing home life and school is an incredibly challenging task to add to pursuing a career in the music industry. Music has been my love and superpower since I was in elementary, middle and high school. As a young adult I pursued another career but as I got older, I realized music was the extension of who I am. Music gives me purpose, makes me feel smart, and included. It expresses the unspoken language and emotions of all mankind. Research shows that music has significant positive effects on brain development and healthy cognitive maintenance. Learning music is also an exceptional tool for teaching practice skills and work ethic. All of these points are skills I want to pass on to the next generation. I aspire to teach music, particularly in the community college and/or university setting. I am interested in teaching piano, music appreciation, music theory, aural skills, mentor music students, and teach possibly music history. I also plan to participate in the orchestra. My creative desire is to enhance preexisting songs with the orchestra. I would also enjoy writing original material. My first inspiration to get into music started when I was 7 or 8 years old. I was obsessed with Huey Lewis and the News. I was fascinated with their melodies, rhythm, and their energy. They had the ability to put the right note in the right place at the right time. Fast forward into adulthood, the rock and roll band Needtobreathe sparked my interest in revisiting my music roots for the same reasons. As I continued to dive deeper into music, Cody Fry inspired my love for integrating orchestras into pop music. I also find Ray Charles a great role model for his aural skills and creative endeavors, particularly his integration of blues, jazz, soul, and pop genres. His album "Genius + Soul=Jazz is an incredible example of his talent. Cody Fry's Symphony Sessions is another example of an album that showcases what I am interested in being a part of. My impact on the music industry will be shaping the next generation of musicians by teaching and mentoring their musical future. I also think it will be vital to the future of music to advocate for fully funded music programs, music research, fair pay, and real musicians playing the music created by real composers and real songwriters. These are the impacts I want to leave behind to our future.

"What if I fall Straight out of the sky? Would I rather look back and wonder Or know that I actually tried? What if I fly? Get a little higher" -"What If ?" from the album The End by Cody Fry Music gave me another sense of purpose. Growing up, I knew I wanted to do two things: be a wife and mom, and do something with music. At 47 years of age, I graduated from Cape Fear Community College with an associate's degree in fine arts in music. When I was in middle and high school, I couldn’t wait for band class. It was what got me up every morning. I wasn’t a straight-A student in the rest of my studies, but in band, I was smart. I was confident. I was ambitious. Unfortunately, a series of events led me to leave the band halfway through high school, and it was a bit of an identity crisis for me. Crazy as it seems, I don’t regret the decision, but I do wish someone had been there to mentor my next steps, musically speaking. I was a female percussionist, which was rare at the time, and I didn’t know what I could do with this particular skill. After an 18-year break from music, and a mother of two at the time, I taught myself guitar and piano and eventually earned a spot on my church’s music team. Getting back into music allowed me to be me. About 5 years ago, I started getting the feeling that I needed to be doing more with music. After graduating two of my kids and my youngest started high school, I now have more time to pursue music. Attending Cape Fear was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. CFCC gave me the skills I needed to pass the audition to the School of Music at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. During these two years, our family was going through a job loss, a car accident, and a mental health crisis of a close family member. Every day I went to class, the challenges of my world left me alone. Of course, I doubted whether I should be there or not due to our circumstances, but then the scholarships showed up, and I took that as a sign that I was doing the right thing. I have learned that I am better at music than I thought, and I am capable of doing more with my gift. I am capable of doing harder things. I graduated with my first 4.0 GPA, not because I hit the books all day but because I love what I do. I love learning about music, creating music, and learning why this sound makes me feel like this. Music doesn’t feel like work for me. It feels more like an extension of who I am. Because of music, I have rediscovered myself. I plan to complete a B.A. in music and minor in Jazz piano. I also plan to get a master's degree from ECU, most likely in music theory and composition. I want to teach at a community college and maybe even a university; therefore, a doctorate is not out of the question. https://youtu.be/db01kLyvZ8w