The first time I heard about TBC was in the summer before my junior year in high school. Around the time, I was looking for volunteer opportunities and I came across those offered by TBC. I realized that this would be the best way to gain volunteer hours because I would actually be able to enjoy what I was teaching through my passion for music. As I went through class after class over zoom, I not only earned some volunteer hours but also made connections with students and learned how to better my own fundamentals just by teaching. I truly enjoyed TBC’s elementary band program and realized that it would be awesome to share this organization with people from my own school. With this idea in mind, I decided to apply for an officer position a year after to gain experience and also improve my own communications skills and recruitment.
At first, the job seemed rough as there was a lot of work around the parade times, something I was not used to after all the online lessons I took the previous years. Not only did I have to email people, but I also had to call them, something which wasn’t exactly in my comfort zone. However, the experience helped me a lot, allowing me to improve my communication skills and learn to talk to people about business-related matters over the phone. A job that gave me lots of stress slowly became fun, and managing emails and forms slowly became something I started to enjoy. Around the spring parade time, I was able to email all the people I needed to very early and figured out a way to manage that even with all my AP tests. Ultimately, I was able to gain time management skills as well.
Sometimes taking up a job that you are not confident about can actually be a gift in disguise, and working with TBC taught me how to use my skills and really apply them. There were many times when I was unsure of what to do, causing me to miss tasks and lose points, but my department heads helped me get back on track and figure out where I was. As someone who loves music, being able to help with such an amazing organization gave me something I will keep with me forever and allowed me to grow as a person. I fully recommend taking part in TBC as a supportive community like this one will only help you keep growing!
