As a high school student who had just decided that my life and career would be built around my love of music, I went looking for a flute teacher who could help me truly start that journey. We searched hard for the "best" teacher for the job. I scheduled a trial lesson with the area's best known teacher. At our first meeting, after hearing only a few notes and knowing that I was always facing one of her current students in auditions, the teacher bragged about the other student thoroughly, and encouraged me to pursue a different career goal because I "probably wouldn't find much success in music." She proceeded to tell me all the things that looked wrong with my playing that proved this, without knowing me as a person. This experience shook me, but I was fortunate to have a strong resolve, supportive parents, and to be blessed with many incredible teachers who taught me for who I was, and with my potential in mind. 

That lesson and experience shaped me as a person. It showed me the kind of teacher I would strive to never be. I promised myself that I would never judge a student at first listen, and that I would value and teach each student for their own merits. In each lesson, I make it my mission to evaluate and provide, to the best of my abilities, what the student I am working with needs at their current location along their musical journey.