David Albert, band teacher, is a professional Drum Set/Percussionist with several Jazz groups. He plays for the NC Opera Company, the NC Ballet Company, as well as with Chamber Groups of the NC Symphony and the NC Wind Orchestra. In addition to this, he is also the President of the North Carolina Music Educators Association.
When Albert was in seventh grade, he joined the band program in Elizabeth City, NC.
“I came home that day and told my mother that being the Band Director in Elizabeth City was what I wanted to do and I did that for 10 years before I came here to start the Leesville Band Program,” said Albert in an e-mail interview. “I think teaching picked me.”
Yvonne Anderson, English teacher, directs plays at North Raleigh Arts and Creative Theater, (NRACT). She plans to write a short play for an upcoming contest sponsored by NRACT.
“In a way, that’s an extension of my love of reading,” said Anderson in an e-mail interview. “[W]hen I was a high school senior, I had the world’s best English teacher who really inspired me to major in English in college,” she said.
Jose Espinal, art teacher, on the other hand, wanted to work with art as a career even when he was growing up. “I wanted to be a comic book artist when I was a kid,” he said, also in an e-mail interview.
Espinal double majored in school, with a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree and K-12 education. “I did not want to be a starving artist, so I volunteered at a jail in Charlotte along with a professor to teach art lessons to inmates. I know…weird but I love the interaction of teacher and student,” he said. “I am a hands-on kind of teacher. I work on art at home, and during class demonstrations, I bring in my own art work for my students.”
Terri Guillemets, U.S. quotation anthologist, once said, “Chase down your passion like it’s the last bus of the night.” Even though these people have made a career of their hobby, they continue to follow their passion. Guillemets also said, “Follow your passion, and success will follow you.”
Every teacher has their own methods, background, interests and talents. Even though each of these people have chosen a certain topic to teach, their lives are not limited to that subject. They are able to simultaneously pursue other interests, the passions which make up their personalities. The things they love are integrated with their job, a tip anyone should remember when considering their future career.
