UCF Students Teach and Inspire Local Youths With Music
by Mallery Laing (mlaing@mail.ucf.edu)

ORLANDO, May 3, 2005 -- Becky Shubirg and dozens of other UCF graduate students gained a lot more than course credits and teaching experience from showing Orange County third- through fifth-graders how to play violins, violas and cellos.

The UCF students participated this year in the A Gift For Music program, which works mainly with low-income students who otherwise could not afford to buy musical instruments.

"Being an instructor in this program has been a challenging experience, but a great one," said Shubirg, who has played the violin for more than 15 years. "I feel such a sense of purpose. They (the children) have taught me persistence, patience, hope and how something that may seem small and unnoticeable can have the biggest impact."

More than 600 A Gift For Music students joined UCF professors May 3 at a sixth-annual concert that attracted an audience of about 1,500. The free recital at the First Presbyterian Church of Orlando included three UCF professors: Nora Lee Garcia, flute; Eladio Scharron, classical guitar; and Ayako Yonetani, violin and viola.

In addition to the UCF and A Gift For Music student performances at the event, Walt Disney World Co.'s famous mariachi band, Mariachi Cobre, performed. Walt Disney World primarily funds the A Gift For Music program.

Dean Kathryn Seidel of the College of Arts and Sciences and Jon Land, Walt Disney World's manager of community relations, received awards for their commitment to helping A Gift For Music students.

Heather Leppard, director of A Gift For Music, said the program gives students something to be proud of and helps them learn to love music. UCF students put so much effort into the program, she said.

"It is a rare privilege to know that you are having a positive effect on so many children, to know that you are a role model and inspiration to them," Leppard said. "There are so many times when they realize that teaching is the most difficult job they could ever do, and when they feel like giving up, all they have to do is look at the difference they are making to these children to realize it is all worth it."

The A Gift For Music program is a division of A Gift For Teaching, a nonprofit organization that serves 296 public schools in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties. The mission of A Gift For Teaching is to ensure that children in Central Florida have the basic tools for learning by giving surplus supplies and merchandise from the community to teachers and schools.

Shubirg said she feels she has touched the lives of so many students just by getting to know them and talking with them.

"One day at one of my schools, kids were giving me hugs as they were leaving, and I asked one girl, Sheilande, if she wanted a hug. She said, 'Yes', so I gave her a big one," Shubirg said. "She left with her class, and ten seconds later, she came back and asked, 'Can I have another one?' I said, 'Of course.' It was so sweet."

DATE POSTED
May 03, 2005

CONTACT
UCF Music Dept.
407-823-2869
ucfmusic@mail.ucf.edu

DOWNLOADS
(none)

LINKS
UCF Music Dept.
Nora Lee Garcia: UCF Flute Studies