Hello!

So I've never done anything like this before which should make this interesting. 

Okay, let's start with the basics: My name is Samantha Barthel and I am a trumpet player. When I'm not at school or at work, I'm either practicing trumpet, doing homework, or playing video games. I mostly game on my Xbox One but I did build a PC to game and do school stuff so that's a thing, too. I've been playing trumpet for eleven years and that is what I spend the majority of my time doing now. I've played in jazz bands, wind (concert) bands, chamber groups, and I've played orchestrally too but my experience there is very limited. While I love to play the trumpet, my goal is to teach trumpet privately on the side while I am a band director at an elementary school because teaching is something very special for me. I currently volunteer (but basically student teach) at Parkridge Elementary three times a week where I work with the bands to help them improve as growing musicians. Most music majors I know only want to teach high school but I have no desire to do so because I think the elementary education is the most crucial point in the development of musicians. If I can't do what I do well, all of my friends who only want to teach high school have garbage programs. With all of that being said, I've spent three years at GCC and will transfer to NAU in the fall as a Music Education Major on Trumpet. I'm excited that I am finally ready to start the next chapter of my life. I have a new professional trumpet ($3000 later) and I feel ready enough as a player to succeed at a university level. GCC has been fun, but the end of this semester cannot come fast enough.