'tis me

1. Who am I?
My name is Krista and I am one of three students from Ohio going on this trip. I will be entering my fourth year studying music therapy at the University of Dayton. I have one older brother with high functioning autism, and I would consider him to be my biggest influence in choosing music therapy as my major. Piano is my primary instrument, but I play the clarinet as well and picked up saxophone (alto and soprano) when I was a sophomore in high school. I am generally pretty quiet in large groups, but will open up more to people one-on-one or in small groups. My sophomore year in school was quite difficult because of two deaths in my family--my mother, and my grandfather--but the people around me have been amazingly supportive and encouraging. I am very excited about music therapy and this trip.

2. What interested me in this program:
My family is German and Romanian--my mother was born in Germany, her parents in Romania. I took four years of German in high school, and I've always wanted to travel to Germany. The opportunity to study music therapy in a study abroad program is rare indeed, and I couldn't think of a study abroad trip that screams my name more clearly than this one. Though music therapy is still a relatively young field, it will be neat to see how it is practiced in a different part of the world and broaden my understanding of music therapy as a whole. I'm especially interested in Creative Music Therapy, and I'm looking forward to seeing how CMT is practiced in Germany.

3. My expectations for the program:
I'm hoping to expand my network of friends and professional colleagues. Also I'd like to brush up on my German skills, and see a few of the sights. I'd like to broaden my understanding of music therapy in Germany and in the U.S., and consider how culture affects how music therapy is practiced.