May 2022 Student Highlight
Wride is a sophomore and a music education major teaching choral education. She said that she has always loved music and has been drawn to it. She took piano lessons when she was younger but she was the first in her family to do choir and musicals. She said that she fell in love with both, and choir quickly became one of her favorite things. “I joined a choir in 7th grade and I never looked back,” Wride said.
Winter semester of 2022, Wride took a class called “Learning Through Service” (STDEV 290 Section 002). She said she loves how instrumental music can be a service to others because it allows people to express themselves and “communicate with others in a way that is different from just talking.” Wride loves how music can be adaptive to people’s unique needs and how accessible it is. At the end of the class, for the final project, the students were asked to present their philosophy of service in a creative way. Wride chose to write a song; you can listen to her talk about it more in-depth and see her perform the song in the video provided.
Wride participated in BYU Women’s Chorus this past year and said the director, Dr. Sonja Poulter is a great example to her of connecting music and service. Wride said that Dr. Poulter has so much musical talent but she never makes it about herself. “She always focuses on how music is an opportunity to praise God and to bless other people and that we’ve been given these gifts so we can add beauty to this world and be a conduit for people to feel the Spirit,” Wride said.
Wride said she loves that the focus at BYU is how to become “instruments in the Lord’s hands.” She said that music brings the Spirit and she believes being a conduit to help others feel the Spirit is one of the biggest services someone can perform. “Dr. Poulter has shown me through word and through deed that the music is never about her, it’s about something bigger and it’s always about helping others find Christ,” Wride said. She said that Dr. Poulter has shaped the way she views herself, her talents, and her future career as a music teacher. Wride said that being a music teacher is an opportunity to bless others even if the music is not religious, it is still a chance to help others learn more about themselves and their divine creator.
