Kristin holding her trumpet.Like all music majors, Kristin stays busy with practices and performances. But she also makes time to be involved in organizations that help her grow professionally, academically and personally.

Some include:

  • Wind Ensemble; Jazz Band; Marching Band; Pep Band
  • Secretary, WIU chapter of International Association for Jazz Educators (IAJE)
  • Mu Phi Epsilon, professional music fraternity
  • MENC: National Association for Music Education
  • Member, Western’s Centennial Honors College
  • Campus Students for Christ

Kristin, Senior

Why did you choose music and Western?

“I chose music education as a major because it is my passion, and I want to be able to share that with others. I chose Western (over five other schools) mostly because I really liked the trumpet professor (Dr. Bruce Briney) here. I had met him over the summer at camps at Western and he was really friendly. I had also been to band competitions here and was really impressed with the Marching Band and Jazz Band. When I attended orientation, I noticed that everyone was really willing to help and all the students seemed nice, which made for a great atmosphere.”

What do you like about your classes?

“In music education the class sizes are really small so there is an exceptional amount of interaction between the students and the professors. The class sizes also allow me to meet more people that I have similar interests with. One of our music theory classes even made a class ‘educational’ documentary so we could remember how much we loved the class. In some of our Honors classes we even have the opportunity to attend campus events together.”

Since music education is such a “busy” major, and you’ve added Honors work on top of that, what do you do on weekends to relax?

“I typically find something to do around campus, like concerts, bowling, movies or just hanging out with friends. I guess like all other students, I make my occasional run to Wal-Mart, or go shopping on the (Macomb) square. But when the weather is warm, my favorite thing to do is go to Lake Argyle with my friends. Sometimes we camp out or make bonfires; we always have a good time.”