Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • WINTER 2017 • PAN PIPES 5 SAI PHILANTHROPIES L isa A. Williams, a native of San Diego, CA, was initiated in the Fall of 1999 by the Delta Nu Chapter at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Lisa is the 2016 Department of Defense (DoDEA)- Fort Bragg District Teacher of the Year. She recently attended the DoDEA Leadership Summit and Awards Gala in Washington, D.C. Lisa is also the 2016 Florida State University COE Distinguished Alumni Award recipient in K-12 Education, recipient of the 2016 "40-Under-40" Leadership Award for her commitment to service in the Fayetteville/ Fort Bragg area, and a nominee for the 2016 Music & Arts National Music Educator of the Year Award. Lisa is a Music Educator and local Webmaster for the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), currently assigned to Marine Corp Air Station-Beaufort in South Carolina. She is also an online Adjunct Professor of Music Appreciation. She previously served as an Army Contractor, serving up to 30 youth in Piano Instruction at Fort Bragg, NC. In her spare time, she was a church musician, as well as a Woodwind Specialist for the Fayetteville State University Marching Band program. Lisa has traveled the country teaching Music, Special Education, and providing technology workshops and support in schools and communities for 16 years. She holds a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Music Education (Howard University), a second Master's Degree in Special Education (University of San Diego), an Education Technology certificate from Liberty University, and an Education Specialist degree in Special Education from Florida State University. She plans to pursue doctoral studies in Education Technology with a focus on digital learning in 21st Century Music Education environments. Lisa believes that all students possess individual leadership skills and an innate ability to learn. She also believes it is her responsibility as an educator to help students identify their unique leadership qualities and use those qualities to achieve their highest potential. She has a passion for making learning fun and helping others understand the importance of using digital learning tools to enhance 21st Century education. Delta Nu initiate Lisa Williams Music Educator Honored model in allowing us to learn through our own exploration (another music framework). Another area we enjoyed and worked as a team was in learning our music for choir with Dr. Morrison. ere is nothing more exhilarating than to come together in song! Our goal was perfecting our songs for a final concert on the last day of our Kodaly Course. We divided into parts, worked through our songs using our new found skills, then performed as if it was our first time because of our natural musician perfectionism. During conducting class, we had to actually choose a song or two to conduct. We took turns being the choir for our classmates to bring us in on different parts and cue our entrances and endings. Our conducting class was a great refresher course. We knew the basics, so we worked on technique and cues. Since I work with a lot of beginners, I have learned to be big in my hand patterns and over exaggerate cues. Dr. Morrison encouraged us to keep our hands in closer to our body to help keep the focal point. It was valuable, because everyone in class was a conductor in some capacity, whether in their jobs, churches, or both. Our aernoons were spent with Dr. Nelson honing our teaching skills, learning the history of Kodaly, building our folk song list for lessons, and folk dancing. e most important concept I walked away with from this session was using the transitions to move from one activity to the next. is helps with classroom management and time management utilizing all you can for instruction. Dr. Nelson had numerous "games" to get students from one activity to the next without them even knowing what happened. Sneaky, huh? It works! Boy, did we have fun acting like our students transitioning with all the games. I am all about taking advantage of what little time I have with my students to teach them as much as I can. Of course, for optimum time, planning is important. So, we worked on a method for writing lesson plans that included all senses to make sure we differentiated for all students. As a class, we were building a resource of folk music for our future lessons and will add to it in the next two levels of Kodaly. e most rewarding time for me during the course was getting to know the new teachers. Some of my classmates had been teaching a short time, just beginning a new job, or still going to college. ey are bright and musically well-rounded. e seasoned teachers had the opportunity to encourage these talented, enthusiastic musicians. I got to share how I have never regretted becoming a music teacher. I urged them to keep plunging through with hope for those "light bulb" moments when "non- teaching duty" requirements interfere with our musical goals for students and discourage us. As music teachers, one of the biggest joys we share are the skills we teach others that can be used and enjoyed the rest of our students' lives. Most importantly these future music teachers will teach a positive means of expression for feelings when they teach music skills - something this world needs a lot more of. Whether the skill is singing, movement, or playing an instrument – you are never too old. Mu B Province Officer Sheree O'Rorke, an Epsilon Delta initiate, is a music teacher for the Little Rock School District at Chicot Elementary School in Arkansas and was a member of the Hot Springs Alumnae Chapter. M E M B E R S P O T L I G H T

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