9/10: Important People

Forever Changed
{If you missed the beginning of the 30 Day Challenge you can find it  here}

Mr. Harner
When I moved to Madison he was the new choir teacher.  The class was an "easy A" and there wasn't a lot of singing going on at the time.  He came in and made us work.  He encouraged all of us to do our best and was just as excited as us if we did something well.  Of course, we definitely gave him a hard time.  Being in that class helped me come out of my shell.  Transferring to a new school and not knowing anyone was hard, but singing was something I excelled at and having a good teacher praise you was exactly what I needed.  Especially after coming from Culpeper where Mrs. R. told me she hated my voice and it hurt her ears.  


Mrs. Cottrill
My eighth grade chorus teacher!  I had never done anything like that before, but I had been taking voice lessons for a few years at that point and decided to join the school choir.  She made singing fun, and we had a great group of people in the class.  We did lots of songs from beloved musicals that year.  Mrs. Cottrill encouraged me to keep doing what I loved.  


Mrs. Pryor
She was my sixth grade social studies teacher and I'll never forget her as long as I live.  Mrs. Pryor was the one who taught me to love history.  She made it fun and exciting and used a hands-on learning approach.  She is the reason I love WWII so much.  


Mrs. Underhill
My fourth grade teacher and probably my favorite out of them all.  She is so kind and funny and really connects with all of her students.  Mrs. Underhill was the one who recognized my writing talent and encouraged it.  She told my parents that my brain moves faster than my fingers and she helped me learn to put my thoughts together so I could actually write a legible sentence.  :-)  She also had a hands-on learning approach and one of my fondest memories will always be her marrying us off like the settlers did when they got off the boat at Plymouth Rock.  Oh, and Founders Day.  How could anyone forget having to dress up like people in the 1800's and dance around the gym while our parents looked on?  

Jeanne
My cousin.  Jeannie is the reason that I started singing in the first place.  When I was in middle school (I think?) we went to see her in a high school production of My Fair Lady where she played the lead, Eliza Doolittle.  Up until that point I had never seen a live performance and it was absolutely incredible.  I can't really pinpoint the exact moment when I knew I wanted to learn how to sing like she could, but it was all I could  talk about after the play was over.  So, my mom and Dad found me a voice coach and I started lessons soon after that.  


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At the NKOTBSB Concert, 2011