Music
Cello a woone one pursuing a Master of Music degree in Cello Performance at the University of South Dakota, under the tutelage of Dr. Sonja Kraus, Assistant Professor of Cello.
Before starting the program at USD, to graduate school, I received a Bachelor of Music from the University of North Texas (UNT), where I studied under Dr. Nikola Ruzevič.
During the fall of 2019, I along with members of the White Spruce Chamber Players performed Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir of Florence Sextet.
In February 2020, I collaborated with Sioux Falls cellist Laura Cooper, in performing Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Cellos in G Minor, RV 531 with the LyricWood Orchestra (Dakota Wesleyan University, Mitchell, SD).
My favorite things about being a librarian were:
Interacting with faculty to better understand their research needs and the needs of their students, both graduate and undergraduate
Building a rapport with faculty, getting to know them as people
Getting both graduate and undergraduate students more comfortable with the ins and outs of research (planning, writing, publishing, peer-review, and editing)
Developing relationships with students to become a “face of the library”
Working with faculty and students in creating mind maps for their research
Strategizing new and innovative library and course instruction with faculty including but not limited to:
Utilizing Wikipedia in the classroom
Visual Thinking Strategies
Active Learning Strategies
Mind Mapping & Flipped Classroom projects
Collaborating with faculty and staff to host new programs in the library
Pedagogy
In the classroom, I aim to foster an egalitarian environment, where all classroom participants are learners, giving students full agency in their acquisition of knowledge and skills. This is achieved through assignments that incorporate critical pedagogy, active learning, mind mapping, and flipped classroom scenarios.
Much of my instruction incorporates ways to utilize Wikipedia and create an engaging and innovative classroom experience, where faculty and students can actively add to scholarship.
In the Spring of 2018, I took the Beginning Practicum course in Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS). After taking the two-day course at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, I met with several professors from our music, business, and art departments to discuss using VTS in various ways within their classes. I have since taught over fifty VTS sessions, resulting in: more dynamic class conversations around art and music, an increased use of area-specific vocabulary in classroom discussions, and a significant increase in classroom participation.
Interests
Activism and service to the community were instilled in me by my parents and grandparents. Growing up, my parents founded and ran an arts non-profit for thirteen years. Observing their diligence, while working beside them, in writing endless grants, programming concerts, and brainstorming community engagement programs, created in me a unique drive, energy, and work ethic. I am active in Madison Area Stands Together (MAST), a de-centralized, grassroots organization in Madison, South Dakota that, strives to empower people to open dialogue and effect positive change in our community, state, and country. My work in MAST led me to participate in LGBTQ2S+ activism, which helped me become a board member of Equality South Dakota in 2018. I now serve as the Executive Secretary of the organization.