Mentorship

Every semester I am privileged to mentor one or two high school students who are songwriters with the passion to turn their craft into a career. Teaching is one of my favorite things about my job. I adore working with writers early in their career in order to set them on the right path.

When young writers approach me for guidance, I am able to give them the information, inspiration, and nurturing they need to develop. They often submit their earliest works for critique so that I can point out its strengths and weaknesses. Our conversations help them decipher the the stories they’re trying to tell and give them a better understanding of how to write cohesive narrative. With young songwriters especially, I do my best to install routine and discipline, often suggesting they write a certain number of times per week. Change happens before their eyes and they are energized by their own development.

The ability to ebb and flow is crucial. Being flexible is one of the greatest strengths children have. They don’t live in a straight line, but instead experience this life in 360 degrees with all of its twists and turns. Expansion can happen at any time and in any direction. More often that not, we become more set in our ways as we age, finding it harder to change a pattern. I have had clients who paid me good money only to argue and stand planted firmly in their age old beliefs, unwilling to admit their methods of work were working against them.

Kids, on the other hand, are resilient and eager to move forward. Heck, that’s the only direction they know! Learning young is a plus.

I think it may be my age, but I am now more interested in giving back. When I started my career, my own journey was my only concern. But now, I want kids to have every opportunity and all the tools they need in order to get ahead.

I am here to look after their interests as if they are my own.