“My mom has always played piano, so when I was six, she encouraged me to take it up. I started playing the flute in my middle school band. In high school, being a piano accompaniment was in high demand, so I did that while I also taught music lessons to a few kids. When the time came to apply to colleges, I had no idea what I wanted to do. And my mom was like, ‘music is second nature to you. It’s part of your life.’ I really enjoyed teaching and interacting with kids, so I was like, alright, let’s study music in college.
After I graduated , I started to look for jobs. I really wanted to teach middle school band. I love middle schoolers because they’re absolutely crazy beings. The first job offer I had was with the Plainfield School District. Even though the school is K through 8, they have a band and chorus and I thought, okay I can make this work. I thought I would be stretched too thin because I am the only music teacher for the school. But it is fun interacting with all the different ages and I love my coworkers.
I just got accepted to a Master’s program for Music Education. It is meant for current teachers, so it’s perfect. I am able to complete my degree online, while still living in Lebanon and teaching in Plainfield.”
-Brenda Chien, Lebanon, NH
