“I have been playing the trombone for 15 years. Music runs in my family as my mom was a music teacher and my grandfather was an unnamed musician on some of the Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass albums. I applied to Ball State University for Grad School because of the open graduate assistantship position I now have. As the Jazz area GA, I’m practically getting to refine my skills as a band leader on top of getting better as a trombonist. My fondest memory so far is conducting the music of George and Ira Gershwin with Jazz Ensemble 3 last semester. It was the first concert I’ve done memorized as a conductor and the ensemble played incredibly well!”