"I want students to see how the material in class can impact the rest of their life—the rest of their time here at Berklee, and their life beyond Berklee. In a writing class I really try to emphasize, 'Yes, this is going to help you with the assignment, but it’s also going to help you in the future when you have to do a piece of writing or you have to read and comprehend a contract or something in your professional life.' I also think there are some great intersections between music and literature, and the creative process that goes into that. Also, just the work of appreciating literature. There’s a kind of music to language."
"Literature that actually addresses music is really cool. We do an activity in one class called story songs where students bring in (songs) that have a narrative. We look for characters and the point of view, and what the plot is, and that sort of thing."
"I think that, as someone who studied creative writing, I have a certain level of empathy with students that are looking to be musicians because some of those processes and frustrations are the same. I can draw on examples from my life studying creative writing and assist them in some ways by coming at it from a more creative perspective. When I teach ACI (Artistry, Creativity, and Inquiry), I draw on a lot of that, talking about when I’ve been frustrated with the creative process and how I deal with it."
"I think it’s really important for students to embrace their liberal arts classes. Find what’s interesting to them in that class, and really pursue it, and use their liberal arts professors as resources when they're here at Berklee. I think that part of their education here really is relevant and it does feed into the overall experience."
