Landing the Gig: Interviewing, Preparation, and More

Join the NAfME Collegiate Advisory Council and school administrators as they share best practices and offer real-time feedback on preparing for your job hunt.

Topics and activities to include:

• Job boards and networking
• Interview preparation with live interview experience
• Where to find resources
• Underclassmen preparation advice
• Breakout room discussions with administrators

Brett Martinez serves as Director of Bands and Chair of the Instrumental Music Department at Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas. Previously, he spent 14 years as a school band director, during which time his groups consistently earned superior ratings at marching and concert band competitions. He holds music education degrees from Wichita State University and was named Teacher of the Year for Douglass Public Schools in 2007. He also serves on the KMEA board as the co-advisor for Kansas C-NAfME, is the Southwestern Division representative for the NAfME Collegiate Advisory Council, and is an elected member of the Phi Beta Mu International Bandmaster Fraternity.

Amari Junkins is a Senior Double Major in Music Education and Music Performance from Lima, Ohio. She attends Ohio Northern University. Her primary instrument is trombone, and she has been an active member of many ensembles on campus including Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Band, University Singers, Steel Drums, and the Marching Band. Amari also participates in the ONU Ski Club, as well as is the past president of the ONU Ohio Collegiate Music Education Association (OCMEA). She serves as the OCMEA Statewide Director of Communications, and the Assistant Marching Band Director at Lima Central Catholic High School. She will complete her degree in the spring by student teaching at Piqua High School and Middle School. Post graduation, Amari plans to stay around the area and teach middle or high school, while pursuing leadership positions in the Ohio Music Education Association.

Katrina Cox began her career as the Director of Choral Activities and Drama at Centralia High School in Southern Illinois, where she created a wide array of music course curricula, conducted a variety of ensembles, and directed a multitude of theatrical productions. As Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education at the University of Nebraska in Omaha, she teaches undergraduate and graduate music education and research courses, directs the Treble University and Nebraska Medical Choirs, supervises practicum students and clinical teachers, advises undergraduate music education majors, and serves as faculty advisor for the UNO student chapter of NAfME. Her research interests center on conductor, teacher, and collaborative expertise, community engagement in music, and impacts of instructional strategies on student performance outcomes. She maintains an active schedule presenting her research regionally, nationally, and internationally, and providing professional development for in-service teachers locally and nationally.

Steve Kelly is a Professor of Music Education at the College of Music at Florida State University. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and his Ph.D. in music education from the University of Kansas. At FSU, he teaches undergraduate and graduate music education classes, coordinates the music education internship program, and directs the FSU Summer Music Camps. Prior to his appointment at FSU, Steve taught in the Virginia public schools and on the faculties at Brevard College in North Carolina and the University of Nebraska in Omaha. He is an active clinician, adjudicator, consultant and guest conductor, has published and presented numerous research papers, served on several journal review boards, and is the author of the book Teaching Music in American Society: A Social and Cultural Understanding of Music Education.

NAfME presents this live virtual event at no charge to all as a service to the music education profession. To register, you must enter your NAfME member information or create a nonmember account. After registering, check your email for instructions. A recording of this program will be available to all registrants for one week following the live event. Members can also view archived NAfME webinars in the NAfME Academy.

The views expressed are those of the presenter; they do not necessarily reflect the views of NAfME.