James Thompson is a doctor of arts flute performance student from Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Right before the start of 2019, James reflects upon his incredibly busy year:

“This past year has been both incredibly challenging and incredibly rewarding. I started off this year taking my comprehensive exams and then writing my dissertation proposal. This summer, I had the incredible opportunity, thanks in part to Ball State support, to travel to France and Belgium to do research and conduct interviews for my dissertation. This Fall I have been preoccupied with writing and editing my dissertation and teaching a Music History 100 class. The highlight was definitely passing my dissertation defense recently, which means I will graduate in May as Dr. Thompson!”

📸: @jkwcreative