Ethan Neal 

7211 Hillman Ridge Rd.  

Georgetown, OH., 45121 
cell: (937) 515-1129  
email: ​ethann.music@gmail.com  
 
For the past three years, I have been a camp counselor at Canter’s Cave 4-H Camp in
Jackson, OH. and over the course of those three years, I have had the opportunity to counsel well
over 3,000 campers and to this day I remember all of their faces. One camper always sticks out
in my mind when the question “Why do you want to go into education?” comes up - that would
be Little Nick. Nick came to us from Pennsylvania with a front and back, 12 point font, whole
page that listed every product and food item that he was allergic to and he was proud to say “Hi,
my name is Nick and I am allergic to life.” Throughout camp, Nick had the time of his life and I
made sure that he did. One night at campfire, I played the character of “Dr. Helga,” the crazy
Eastern European Doctor who got lost in time. The last night at camp, Nick came up to me
during our candle-lighting and gave me a hug and began to cry. He said “Everyone here gets to
go home and see all their friends, but some of them I will never get to see again in my life. I’m
going to miss you, but I’ll never forget you, Dr. Helga.” It was at this moment that I realized that
I could change the life of the youth that would shape our future and what a better way to do it
than music. To do so, I would have to attend college to get my education degree. Music has
always been a passion of mine and I know, through experience, that music education affords me
the skills to physically change the life of my students and by changing their lives, I can change
our future - the youth of today will shape the society of tomorrow and what a better impact than
music, the international language of society.

Pedagogy - the art of teaching - is not that easy of a skill to just teach yourself, though I
have tried. Whenever there is something in the world that I want to learn, I always try to teach
myself first because I know that my struggles will someday be beneficial when teaching those
skills to future students. I have taught myself how to play over 30 instruments, but still,
pedagogy illudes me. The classrooms and ensembles that need directing and teaching, just are
not here - they are at college. I plan on attending the University of Kentucky in the Fall of 2019
as a double major in Music Education and Instrumental Performance where the classrooms and
ensembles that will allow me to blossom and grow as an educator will be at my fingertips where
I can learn that elusive art of pedagogy. With this newfound craft of pedagogy, I will be able to
go out into the world to make a difference - a difference that can change the future. “Music is a
language that doesn’t speak in particular words. It speaks in emotions, and if it’s in the bones,
it’s in the bones.” ― Keith Richards. I want to show the future of our world that music can be
used to change the world because music is the one language that every single person can speak,
but only with time, personal growth, and instruction will they learn to comprehend -- this is my
goal; to teach the world to sing.