For Charles, Miami\u2019s mix of cultures also connects to lessons he learned as a student in Tallahassee.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMusic brings people together who would not have been coming together for any other reason,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I see that as a power, and it\u2019s a power that I learned in Tallahassee.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That belief in music\u2019s impact also guides Vivian Ventura, an FSU College of Music\u00a0alumna\u00a0and orchestra director at Southwood Middle School. Ventura, who attended FSU for both her undergraduate and graduate studies in music education, was named\u00a0Miami-Dade County Public Schools\u2019 2026 Teacher of the Year<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ventura credits her graduate studies at FSU\u00a0with\u00a0changing how she thought about herself as an educator.<\/p>\n \u201cFSU prepared me for Teacher of the Year through my master\u2019s degree studies,\u201d Ventura said. \u201cThey enhanced my overall understanding of how to improve the way I think of myself as a teacher.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n She also sees music education as a way for students to develop skills they can use throughout their lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s so many life skills they learn in music,\u201d Ventura said. \u201cThey learn how to get along. They learn to communicate. They learn to listen. They learn to think about what they are doing. When you apply those skills, you can do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n