My main inspiration for going into the field of music education is my passion to make an impact on people's lives. Throughout my whole life, going to school became a sanctuary from my hectic home life. I was raised by a single immigrant mother of three children, and because of her need to take care of her children, she wasn't home a lot and could not always provide the support I needed as I was growing up. I often found solace in my favorite teachers, and I was able to immerse myself in learning. As an adult now, I am able to reflect on the teachers that made a difference in my life, and I want to be able to become a fond memory for my future students to look back on. My biggest educational inspiration is my high school band director, Aaron Morgan. He was my biggest motivator when I was in high school, and the impact he made in my life can not truly be put into words. He was able to push me to improve and become a better musician while also being supportive and understanding when I struggled. Mr. Morgan continued to believe in my abilities as a musician and future educator even when I lost faith in myself. He is the reason why today, I am studying Music Education and plan to have a career as a music teacher. Having unsupportive parents of my career choice was and still is a difficult thing to deal with. However, I chose to follow the path that would make me feel the most fulfilled rather than chasing money in a career that I have no passion for. That is one of the main ways I want to make a difference in my community. I want to be able to be the support system for future music educators who don't necessarily have that at home. My future students will know that I will be there for them every step of the way as their biggest cheerleader and motivator. As a Vietnamese-American woman going into a White-male dominated industry, the most significant difference I want to make in the music education community is to provide my students with the representation that many of them desperately crave as students. In my experience, every single one of my band directors in middle school and high school were White men. I had a couple of female music teachers in elementary school however, they were still all White. Teachers should be able to represent their vastly diverse group of students. I never had the opportunity to have that representation and role model that I was missing from my life. My goal as a future educator is to make sure all my students are able to feel safe and welcome in their school environment.

My main inspiration for going into the field of music education is my passion to make an impact on people's lives. Throughout my whole life, going to school became a sanctuary from my hectic home life. I was raised by a single immigrant mother of three children, and because of her need to take care of her children, she wasn't home a lot and could not always provide the support I needed as I was growing up. I often found solace in my favorite teachers, and I was able to immerse myself in learning. As an adult now, I am able to reflect on the teachers that made a difference in my life, and I want to be able to become a fond memory for my future students to look back on. My biggest educational inspiration is my high school band director, Aaron Morgan. He was my biggest motivator when I was in high school, and the impact he made in my life can not truly be put into words. He was able to push me to improve and become a better musician while also being supportive and understanding when I struggled. Mr. Morgan continued to believe in my abilities as a musician and future educator even when I lost faith in myself. He is the reason why today, I am studying Music Education and plan to have a career as a music teacher. Having unsupportive parents of my career choice was and still is a difficult thing to deal with. However, I chose to follow the path that would make me feel the most fulfilled rather than chasing money in a career that I have no passion for. That is one of the main ways I want to make a difference in my community. I want to be able to be the support system for future music educators who don't necessarily have that at home. My future students will know that I will be there for them every step of the way as their biggest cheerleader and motivator. As a Vietnamese-American woman going into a White-male dominated industry, the most significant difference I want to make in the music education community is to provide my students with the representation that many of them desperately crave as students. In my experience, every single one of my band directors in middle school and high school were White men. I had a couple of female music teachers in elementary school however, they were still all White. Teachers should be able to represent their vastly diverse group of students. I never had the opportunity to have that representation and role model that I was missing from my life. My goal as a future educator is to make sure all my students are able to feel safe and welcome in their school environment.

Throughout my whole life, going to school became a sanctuary from my hectic home life. I was raised by a single immigrant mother of three children, and because of her need to take care of her children, she wasn't home a lot and could not always provide the support I needed as I was growing up. I often found solace in my favorite teachers and classes, and I was able to immerse myself in learning. As an adult now, I am able to reflect on the teachers that made a difference in my life, and I want to be able to become a fond memory for my future students to look back on as well. Having unsupportive parents of my career choice was and still is a difficult thing to deal with. However, I chose to follow the path that would make me feel the most fulfilled rather than chasing money in a career that I have no passion for. That is one of the main ways I want to make a difference in my community. I want to be able to be the support system for future music educators who don't necessarily have that at home. My future students will know that I will be there for them every step of the way as their biggest cheerleader and motivator. As a Vietnamese-American woman going into a White-male dominated industry, the most significant difference I want to make in the music education community is to provide my students with the representation that many of them desperately crave as students. In my experience, every single one of my band directors in middle school and high school were White men. I had a couple of female music teachers in elementary school however, they were still all White. Teachers should be able to represent their vastly diverse group of students. I never had the opportunity to have that representation and role model that I was missing from my life. My goal as a future educator is to make sure all my students are able to feel safe and welcome in their school environment.

My main inspiration for going into the field of education is my passion to make an impact on people's lives. Throughout my whole life, going to school became a sanctuary from my hectic home life. I was raised by a single immigrant mother of three children, and because of her need to take care of her children, she wasn't home a lot and could not always provide the support I needed as I was growing up. I often found solace in my favorite teachers, and I was able to immerse myself in learning. As an adult now, I am able to reflect on the teachers who made a difference in my life, and I want to be able to become a fond memory for my future students to look back on. My biggest educational inspiration is my high school band director, Aaron Morgan. He was my biggest motivator when I was in high school, and the impact he made in my life can not truly be put into words. He was able to push me to improve and become a better musician while also being supportive and understanding when I struggled. Mr. Morgan continued to believe in my abilities as a musician and future educator even when I lost faith in myself. He is the reason why today, I am studying Music Education and plan to have a career as a music teacher. Having unsupportive parents of my career choice was and still is a difficult thing to deal with. However, I chose to follow the path that would make me feel the most fulfilled rather than chasing money in a career that I have no passion for. That is one of the main ways I want to make a difference in my community. I want to be able to be the support system for future music educators who don't necessarily have that at home. My future students will know that I will be there for them every step of the way as their biggest cheerleader and motivator. As a Vietnamese-American woman going into a White-male dominated industry, the most significant difference I want to make in the music education community is to provide my students with the representation that many of them desperately crave as students. In my experience, every single one of my band directors in middle school and high school were White men. I had a couple of female music teachers in elementary school however, they were still all White. Teachers should be able to represent their vastly diverse group of students. I never had the opportunity to have that representation and role model that I was missing from my life. My goal as a future educator is to make sure all my students are able to feel safe and welcome in their school environment.

My main inspiration for going into the field of education is my passion to make an impact on people's lives. Throughout my whole life, going to school became a sanctuary from my hectic home life. I was raised by a single immigrant mother of three children, and because of her need to take care of her children, she wasn't home a lot and could not always provide the support I needed as I was growing up. I often found solace in my favorite teachers, and I was able to immerse myself in learning. As an adult now, I am able to reflect on the teachers that made a difference in my life, and I want to be able to become a fond memory for my future students to look back on. My biggest educational inspiration is my high school band director, Aaron Morgan. He was my biggest motivator when I was in high school, and the impact he made in my life can not truly be put into words. He was able to push me to improve and become a better musician while also being supportive and understanding when I struggled. Mr. Morgan continued to believe in my abilities as a musician and future educator even when I lost faith in myself. He is the reason why today, I am studying Music Education and plan to have a career as a music teacher. Having unsupportive parents of my career choice was and still is a difficult thing to deal with. However, I chose to follow the path that would make me feel the most fulfilled rather than chasing money in a career that I have no passion for. That is one of the main ways I want to make a difference in my community. I want to be able to be the support system for future music educators who don't necessarily have that at home. My future students will know that I will be there for them every step of the way as their biggest cheerleader and motivator. As a Vietnamese-American woman going into a White-male dominated industry, the most significant difference I want to make in the music education community is to provide my students with the representation that many of them desperately crave as students. In my experience, every single one of my band directors in middle school and high school were White men. I had a couple of female music teachers in elementary school however, they were still all White. Teachers should be able to represent their vastly diverse group of students. I never had the opportunity to have that representation and role model that I was missing from my life. My goal as a future educator is to make sure all my students are able to feel safe and welcome in their school environment.