On October 26, Dr. Melissa Berke, along with two recent graduates Ashley Jurgens and Erika Kepler, presented a session at the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) National In-Service Conference held in Nashville, Tennessee. Their session entitled “Help! This wasn’t covered in my methods class!” gave an overview of the challenges that new teachers encounter and solutions for making the first year of teaching a success.

“I was so proud to be able to present with my former students,” said Berke. “I feel that my responsibility as a teacher goes beyond the classroom. Once my students graduate, it is my role to help them make the transition from students to colleagues and sharing ideas through conference presentations is a great way to facilitate that. “It was an amazing experience!”, said Kepler. “Even though I am new to the profession, it felt really good to be a ble to share ideas with others. It’s like I completed the circle from being the student to becoming the teacher of teachers.”