My Story

It is funny that I am returning to Germany to study music therapy: Germany, in a round about way, is the reason I study music therapy.

I have played cello since age 8. In 2002, my cello took me to Aachen, Germany on an international music exchange. I made an immediate connection with my host family, the music community, and the country as a whole. Germany became a special place for me, and I knew that I was supposed to return. I returned the following summer and played again with the Jugendsymphonieorchester Aachen. I thought for a time that I would like to study in Germany, but in 2004, I started at (the very American) Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music in cello performance. I figured that Germany would have to wait, perhaps for a Fulbright Scholarship after college.

In Spring 2006, I traveled again to Germany to play for some professors and possibly make some connections I could use to apply for a Fulbright, or even transfer for my junior and senior years. After I played for a professor at the Freiburg Hochschuele fuer Musik, we had a long conversation about me and my experiences. Unlike many music professors, she asked about my WHOLE life. I told her about my love for working with people and with children; about how I got my EMT (emergency medical technician) certification at age 17 and my interest in science and medicine; about my training in dance, theater, and voice.

She was quiet for a while, and then asked me, “Why aren’t you studying music therapy?”

“I don’t know,” was my response.

I had never thought outside the life plan I had made when I was 8 years old. But this professor had planted an idea in my head which grew throughout my trip, and by the time I had returned to Ohio, I knew that music therapy was my answer. I contacted Lalene Kay, one of our music therapy professors at B-W, and before I knew it I was on track to graduate in two years with a music therapy degree.

Since my major change, I have never doubted that music therapy is what I am supposed to do with my life. However, in the decision process, I told myself that I had to give up the dream of studying or living in Germany. That was the sacrifice I made, and I came to terms with the fact that I would probably go back to Germany only for my host sister’s wedding someday.

Then after AMTA conference in November, Lalene sent out an email saying that a friend of hers was leading a music therapy study abroad trip to GERMANY. I literally ran out of my dorm and burst into Lalene’s office saying, “This is PERFECT! This is my trip!” Because I was new to the field, I had no idea about the rich history of music therapy in Germany. I am very excited to learn about it and to meet German music therapists. I am so thankful that this opportunity came along and that I will be a part of it! I promise that you will all be able see (and hear!) my enthusiasm throughout the trip, once the jetlag wears off.*
~Sarah
*Jetlag (you will find out, my fellow travelers) makes me nauseated.