KKPsi, Music Education, and the Pandemic

by Matt Pugh and Ray Johnson

Eta- ΚΚΨ The Ohio State University

Even with mask mandates being lifted around the country, it seems we still have not been able to escape “these unprecedented times”. For many of us, the pandemic has affected every aspect of collegiate life. So when does the unprecedented become the new normal? And how has the pandemic informed our experiences with education and KKΨ?

Both Ray and I (Matt), are music education students here at Ohio State and are brothers of the Eta chapter. However, we have had two different experiences from our times so far in college. Fortunately for me, I graduated high school in 2019 and had the opportunity to have nine months of pre-pandemic schooling. Though starting at the end of my first semester, I begun showing symptoms of burnout. My battle with burnout extended into early 2021 while also dealing with other mental health issues. During this time, I often thought about walking away not just from college, but from music entirely. Looking back, this is greatly upsetting to me, as I have learned to cope with burnout, anxiety, and depression in healthier ways, but I know that I was not alone in this struggle. My feelings about music started improving in the summer, when I got to see my brothers again. I was able to participate in the marching band summer sessions and grilled at the cookout event the Eta chapter sponsors at the end of the summer. This was the time that I remembered why I joined this fraternity and why I wanted to make music my career. Since then, my passion for both has skyrocketed.

In the past year, I have had many other of my brothers come to me and express similar sentiments. In our chapter, it seems like many others experienced a great deal of grief from not being able to perform or not being able to fully convey their musical expressions. In school, many of my peers also experienced this burnout and contemplated dropping their majors or school entirely. I even saw this in my classroom observations, and the education field in general. The size of many ensembles dropped, students started falling behind, and many teachers were thinking of leaving or left the profession. I think it will take many years for us to mourn what we lost and for us to accept the new normal, but I think we will get there eventually. I know that I’m happy music continues to be there for me, and I hope that my brothers feel the same as well. I’m proud to be a music educator and I’m proud to a brother of Kappa Kappa Psi.

As for my experience (Ray), finishing high school during the beginning of the pandemic was heartbreaking to say the least. My last quarter of classes with my friends, my senior band concert, and my graduation ceremony were all crumbling before me. At this point in time, we were hopeful that we would be able to start our collegiate careers back in-person; however, we would soon find out that this would not be possible. Classes for the fall of 2020 began to get put online while more and more events were postponed or cancelled completely. That first semester was quite the struggle acclimating to a new home, having very limited social interactions, and spending sometimes 8 hours straight at my desk just hopping in and out of different Zoom calls. I was very lucky that Ohio State did all that they could to provide some form of “band” which provide some opportunity to meet people, but my social needs were still not fully being met. While I had not been a part of the music education program pre-pandemic, I was still experiencing burn out like symptoms. The question “Can I really become a successful music educator during this time?” ran through my head on an almost daily basis.

At the end of that first semester, a friend of mine in the marching band encouraged me to attend recruitment for Kappa Kappa Psi as a way to make connections in the music community here. I had heard of the organization before because my dad was a Brother, but I hadn’t seriously considered joining myself. I was still interested in making friends though, so I went to recruitment week and felt a new home from the first day! So many people that I sort of knew and looked up to were Brothers, and I could tell this would be an amazing opportunity for me. I decided to attend interview night and was extend a bid to begin the Membership Education Program. Throughout the process my fellow MCs became some of my closest friends and the Brotherhood truly began to feel like a family to me. Today, I am finishing my term as the Chapter Editor and I’m looking forward to a bright future in the Eta Chapter.