After completing my student teaching requirements in Fort Wayne, I went to Mussoorie, India, to teach at Woodstock School which is a Christian international boarding school in the foothills of the Himalayas. There I taught private piano lessons and also instructed the intermediate level band and high school choir. It was a unique job because the school was Grades K-12 but we had a full music department staff of about 8 teachers very similar to Taylor U's music department staff! I also got to work with several of the high school musical productions as piano accompanist and/or choreographer.
I returned to the USA to marry my best friend, Jason Francis, (also Taylor alumni) and worked in a K-8 Christian school. We moved to Seattle and I worked as a traveling piano teacher and then landed at another private school where I taught Elementary Music, piano and prepared music/choreography of annual school musicals. We again moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, so Jason could get his MFA in Theatre Acting and Directing and I worked at another K-12 Christian school with the choir, orchestra, and preschoolers. At that time I also started my current private piano lesson business called Francis Music Studio. Jason was diagnosed with cancer in our second year there and passed shortly after. Again I moved to Charlotte, NC so our daughter could grow up with her cousins. In Charlotte, I continued Francis Music Studio and I also work part-time at a wonderful little private school called Weddington Christian Academy. It is my 9th year at the school and I teach K-8 music and prepare students for bi-annual performances. Piano students participate in local music festivals and competitions.
The total Christian environment is what I appreciated the most. I went to K-12 public school in a small town and it was so hard to find like-minded friends.
Also, my senior year I lived off campus and the house next door to us housed several international students. We became good friends with them and in turn, got to meet even more international students. They became known as "The Soup House." The name stuck for several years after. It was a special time!
Taylor music professors prepared me for everything I am doing. One professor even warned us as Music Education majors that we might have to perform jobs that are not in our areas of strength. We didn't want to listen to him at the time, but it has been SO TRUE!
I learned so much in my required Bible courses and philosophy/ethical courses. Since most of the schools I have worked at have been Christian, this background has helped me a lot. Not to mention that Taylor's perspective of "all truth is God's truth" has just helped with everyday life.
1. Listen to your professors even when you don't want to! Be humble and teachable. They have been on the planet much longer than you.
2. Think of what you are thankful for at Taylor at regular intervals so that when you leave, you will not regret taking the experience for granted. Early on in my time at Taylor, I heard some graduates talk about their regrets and this was one of them. I paid attention to my time at Taylor, soaked it in and did not take it for granted. I have no regrets.
