I have known Elizabeth Hartzler for roughly a year and a half. I am an engineer at Rockwell Automation and spend much of my free time instructing instrumental music. When I moved to Milwaukee, I began teaching at Waukesha North High School with the marching band and Elizabeth was a junior in the band. From the beginning I could see that she was a bright and engaging young trumpet player that genuinely cared for the people around her. However, I saw a couple obstacles holding her back. She was friends with several individuals that set a bad example and kept her from reaching her full potential, and showed a distinct lack of dedication to the activity and her performance in it. As a result of these two factors she was underachieving, both as a performer and an individual. …show more content…
She showed a lack of interest in both the band and in taking instruction and working with the group. I talked to her a couple times, pointing out the way her actions were being perceived, and she didn’t seem to care. After one weekend of rehearsals and shows, when she seemed particularly disinterested, she came to me afterwards and apologized. This struck me because she apologized, not for her conduct, but for the root cause of her poor attitude. She recognized that she needed to make a fundamental shift in her life in order to be successful, not only in band, but in her future academic pursuits and career. From that day forward, I immediately saw a difference in Miss Hartzler. She showed up early to rehearsal, she started paying closer attention to instruction, and she started helping those around her. She also stopped associating with her problematic friends and set the example for others to follow. I could now count on her to lead the section, even though she wasn’t a titled leader. Throughout my life, I’ve never seen such a monumental shift from a young person, done entirely of their own accord and