Ananya Amarnath is ending her undergraduate career at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on a high note.
She will be one of the thousands of Huskers who will attend the May 18 commencement ceremony to receive a degree in music education from the Rickson-Leet College of the Arts. Although Ms. Amarnath's path to obtaining her degree came with many challenges academically, she had the opportunity to pursue two of her passions. I overcame this challenge by remembering this.
“Everyone has a starting point, like why they like music or why they like teaching,” she says. “It’s really important to take a moment to reconsider that idea and make sure you don’t lose it.”
Amarnath was introduced to music education at the age of five when he began studying Indian classical music. During her early years, she also took lessons in Indian classical dance. Her younger sister also attended lessons, and Amarnath realized then that she loved helping her younger sister learn.
“This is something that has always existed in my life, so why not combine the two things I love and keep doing that?” she said.
She began taking group singing lessons, but began playing the flute in middle school, which continued throughout her years at Elkhorn South High School. Amarnath was inspired to pursue this career by watching her own teachers.
“The amazing music educators around me took my love of music seriously and realized that there was more to music than just singing in a choir,” she said.
Amarnath had just finished teaching students at Papillion La Vista South High School, where he had the opportunity to learn from two instructors. She picks the brains of both of them and grows by observing them, as well as applying the lessons from her classes to actual teaching, as they have a wealth of experience. He said he was grateful for the opportunity.
“They have two very different approaches to education, so I have looked at both and tried to understand what my approach should be,” Amarnath said. . “I love watching them teach and they have great relationships with their students.”
Outside of the classroom, her music education major required Ms. Amarnath to learn the basics of playing several instruments, but her favorite additional instruments were the saxophone and oboe. She also participated in several university choirs, including the University Choir, University Singers, Chamber Singers, and i2 Choir.
“I really appreciate having these requirements to step away from the teaching side of things and just make music,” she said.
Although Amarnath enjoyed these opportunities, he also had to push through failing and retaking classes, leaving him with insufficient time for practice and other typical challenges faced by students. She finds it essential to seek advice and support from her colleagues and upperclassmen to get through her time at the University of Nebraska, and to remind herself of her goals and reasons to continue working towards her degree. she said.
“I think a lot of people are lost,” Amarnath says. “They think, 'I have too many classes, this doesn't make sense, I'm not successful' because they don't see their progress and they don't think about the 'why'.”
Now, after overcoming challenges and preparing to receive her diploma, Amarnath wants students to remember that although they may face adversity, that doesn't mean they won't succeed in the future. . If he could talk to his past self as he prepares to enter college, Amarnath would tell himself it's okay to struggle.
“I'm going to fall on my face, because everyone does that,” Amarnath said. “At this point, I'm more sure of who I am. I don't think that would have happened if I hadn't done everything I did at UNL.”