When I was younger, I was asked for years if I wanted to take piano lessons from my grandmother like my cousins, but I turned the offer down repeatedly because I didn’t want to be a huge nerd (obviously). However, when my siblings started taking lessons too, I became jealous of what they were able to do and caved. That was during my sophomore year of high school and I’ve since played piano nearly every day! It was a hobby that I deeply enjoyed until I graduated high school, where I began to wane off from lessons.

Once I started at Chaffey College in 2017, I didn’t have a clear path for myself as I experimented with English and writing classes. A couple of semesters in, I enrolled in a music performance class at the recommendation of a counselor who noticed my interest in piano. During the first day of that class, I was immediately blown away by the passion and skill of the musicians who performed for the rest of us. I remember there was someone who presented their own original music and played it with incredible grace.

Enrolling in more music courses, I started receiving studio lessons from my second piano teacher where I was introduced to classical pieces and technique. I loved it so much—I picked up music theory and musicianship quickly and learned to get comfortable with performing for an audience. A few semesters and several chats with my parents and friends later, I decided this was something I wanted to seriously pursue.

In 2020, during the beginning months of the COVID-19 pandemic, I finished my last semester at Chaffey and transferred to Cal Poly Pomona with Associates degrees in English and Music. I enrolled as a music major under the Pedagogy option, where I studied teaching techniques on different instruments, advanced music theory, and took lessons under my third piano teacher. Those were probably the three most stressful years of my life—I was split between attending class full-time, practicing piano for an onslaught of performances and masterclasses, and working 30 hours weekly as a barista. Despite having exactly 0 hours to myself during the week, I deeply loved what I was learning and doing.

An immense amount of work later, I graduated in 2023 with a BM in pedagogy—summa cum laude. Almost immediately after graduating, I started to teach in a studio setting and fell in love with sharing my passion for music and piano. I also began looking into the craft of piano tuning and maintenance! This turned into me taking technician classes and purchasing a little 1970’s Wurlitzer upright to work on.

Now, with a few years of teaching and my piano technician certification under my belt, I run my own studio and tuning services. It’s been an absolute pleasure getting to know each and every one of my clients and students. I take immense pride in what I do and get to experience so much joy working with and learning alongside my students. I someday wish to go back to school so that I might gain more wisdom to build my teaching upon!