Hill, Kim

Kamp, \u2715, Danielle

Digital Commons @ Illinois Wesleyan University

Illinois Wesleyan UniversityDigital Commons @ IWUNews and Events University Communications2015Striking a ChordKim HillIllinois Wesleyan UniversityDanielle Kamp, '15Illinois Wesleyan UniversityThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by The Ames Library, the Andrew W. Mellon Center for Curricular and FacultyDevelopment, the Office of the Provost and the Office of the President. It has been accepted for inclusion in Digital Commons @ IWU bythe faculty at Illinois Wesleyan University. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@iwu.edu.©Copyright is owned by the author of this document.Recommended CitationHill, Kim and Kamp, '15, Danielle, "Striking a Chord" (2015). News and Events. Paper 2711.http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/news/2711Striking a Chord  Illinois Wesleyan students offer free music lessons to area  youth  March 25, 2015  At the Boys & Girls Club (BGC) of Bloomington-Normal, music lessons  commence at a corner of a 6-foot folding table, and performances ring  forth from the stage of a gym that still rings with shouts from last  night’s basketball game. But to the youth who get free, one-on-one  lessons from a mentor they admire, performing at Carnegie Hall could  not be any sweeter.  Every Saturday morning during the school year, Bloomington-area youth  learn piano, violin, guitar, clarinet and other instruments from Illinois  Wesleyan students who receive no academic credit or monetary stipend  for their efforts. The program, called Mini Masters, was the brainchild of  IWU student Courtney Balk ’13. During her senior year at Illinois  Wesleyan, Balk was inspired to create a way to provide positive role  models – musical and otherwise – for local kids. Balk started with a one- day music event at BGC, and while that experience was successful, she  wasn’t satisfied. Balk wanted to develop a program that would provide  consistent instruction, inspire kids to dream big about both college and    Courtney Balk '13 music, and carry on after she graduated.  A music and English-literature double major, Balk spent much of her last  fall as a college student contacting potential partners, and by spring, the Boys & Girls Club had agreed to host the program.  Illinois Wesleyan students, including Cara Fulcher ’16, Julie Lewis ’16 and Hannah Eby ’15, were eager to help, whether it  was teaching lessons or working out the many details that went into getting the program off the ground.   “It’s a mutually beneficial partnership,” said Balk, who continues her love for music, literature and working with  kids as a children’s librarian in the Chicagoland area.  “IWU offers rich resources in college mentors that the  kids at BGC can benefit from, while BGC offers  opportunities for aspiring teachers to teach. I just  needed to link the two together, and the most important  thing I did was hand off leadership the next year.”  The succession plan included Eby, Fulcher and Lewis,  who lead the program this year. Eby and Lewis received a 2014 Weir Fellowship. An external grant and a  fundraiser with Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity  added more funding. With the money, IWU students purchased music stands and ukuleles, repaired  instruments, created a music library, offered stipends for transportation, and continue to cover other  miscellaneous expenses associated with running the program. Now in its third year, the program has served dozens of  elementary and junior high kids with free lessons, trips to an Illinois Wesleyan concert each semester, and a brief  performance for the children’s parents at the end of each session. At least half a dozen IWU students commit to teach on a  given Saturday.  That consistency is a critical element of the program. “One of the first things we talk about in our introductory meetings is  our reliability,” said Lewis, a Hispanic Studies and sociology double major. “We stress that we will be here every single  Saturday to work on their skills, and to build relationships. A couple of the kids have been coming all three years that we’ve  been doing this, and it’s so cool to see how their confidence is improved and how excited they are to continue and progress  with their music.”   Viola student Ben Nguy    Flats and sharps, bars and measures are not the only  topics student and mentor discuss. One of the program’s  original goals was to help the kids to dream big by  talking about college and the opportunities of higher  education. It’s an aspiration for 10-year-old Lexie  Williams. Lexie currently strums a bright yellow ukulele  adorned with a smiley face, a Christmas gift encouraged  by her Mini Masters experience. But she hopes to go to  college and keep playing her instrument – guitar is next  up, just as soon as she grows into it – in part because her  mentor, Eby, provides encouragement.  “Being able to inspire kids to find the happiness I’ve  found in music, and to fuel their desires to be passionate  about music, is really exciting,” said Lewis. Eby sees  growth in Lexie’s confidence each week.    The lessons build confidence in IWU student Fulcher as  well. As a music education major, she relishes the  opportunity to practice her teaching skills, although on some Saturdays that means juggling more students than she would  like. “It’s great experience, though, and some weeks when we’re leaving [the Boys & Girls Club], I just have the biggest smile  on my face thinking, ‘That was a great lesson.’ At least for today, I really made a difference in someone’s life.”  Making a difference hearkens back to Mini Masters’ origins. As a member in IWU’s Action Research Seminar, Balk said  Director Deborah Halperin challenged the IWU students not only to make a positive change in their communities, but to do it  now. Eby says the program turns college students into community leaders.  “Mini Masters shows students they have the power to make a very real difference in kids’ lives,” said Eby. “We’re not just  college students — we’re also part of the community. We can make a difference here.”   By Kim Hill and Danielle Kamp '15      Hannah Eby '15 (center) with her ukulele students Thomas  Gutu and Lexie Williams   

Striking a Chord

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