By William H. Kelly III
(JACKSON, Miss.) – Stephanie Hughes will graduate from Jackson State University this Saturday, May 4, with a bachelor’s degree in music education on one hand and a lesson plan on the other. Hughes has already landed a job as the director of orchestra at Hazelwood Central Middle School in St. Louis, Missouri.
The soon-to-be graduate secured the role in her former school district and hometown, vowing to serve as the teacher she yearned to have growing up.
“I also thought about myself when I was in middle school and how I really would have appreciated having a teacher that looked like me and how much that would have helped my journey with playing an instrument and probably boosting my self-esteem a little bit,” said Hughes. “I really just want to provide that for my students. I want them to feel like I care. Also, I want them to have the opportunities that I didn’t have when I was playing instruments growing up.”
The string instrument family, also known as chordophones, are composed of instruments such as the violin, viola, harp, cello, and double bass. Though Hughes maneuvered her time at JSU as the only strings instrument concentration major in the Department of Music, she also encountered her first Black strings instructors in the same department.
Throughout her adolescence, she remembers often being the only young Black instrumentalist in various camps and programs and the isolation that followed. She says that, in these spaces, she was often ridiculed and questioned by peers, and instructors alike, for the contrast in her socioeconomic status compared to classmates and “lack of professional training.”
Statistically, there are less Black music educators in the U.S. than any other race or ethnicity. According to Zippia.com over 60% of music educators in the U.S. are white men or women, followed by Asian (11%), Hispanic or Latino (10%), and Black educators ranking last at 7.2%.
“I never got private lessons on viola. I took piano lessons for a couple of years, but my mom says my sister and I lost interest,” she said. “So I was really trying my hardest to get into those spaces. I would have loved to have had the opportunity to have a teacher that looked like me to keep me motivated and show me that there are options for people who look like me.”
Despite facing adversity, Hughes’ journey toward becoming an educator and honing her musical talents comes at no surprise. Her musically inclined parents teach science, and she has a twin sister who is a special education teacher and adept at the violin. It would seem that Hughes was quite literally born to do this.
Now, the future educator will mold the minds, ears and heart strings of the next generation of musicians, scholars, and more. She will be crossing the Jackson State University Commencement stage with a 3.5 GPA.
“I really want people to know that anything is possible, and to not let people tell you that you can or cannot do something. I had so many people telling me along the way that I would never get here. I used to struggle with reading, and I had teachers telling me that I’m stupid and I would never get to where I am,” Hughes said.
The soon-to-be graduate is “here” because she learned how to overcome.
“If you feel like you can do something, even if you have the resources or you don’t have the resources, you can do it. All you need is a belief to get to where you need to go.”
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