COLL: ­An Open Letter to cNAfME Alabama

Hello all!

This is DeLee Benton, your cNAfME Alabama president. This has been a very exciting year of new beginnings and growth for our state chapter so far! We are excited to expand our horizons through the National Collegiate Summit, through our Alabama Collegiate Summit, and through our new Collegiate Buddy Chapter System.

Our state AMEA graciously sent two collegiate members to the National Collegiate Summit and Hill Day. Several other collegiate students traveled along with these two sponsored students and many of them shared their individual experiences with our Secretary Isabelle Page. You can read more about their experiences in the previous issue of the AlaBreve.

Our Collegiate Summit will be held on October 27th, 2019 from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Samford University. We will have opportunities for professional development, networking, and a New Teacher panel. Dinner for this event is provided by AMEA and is free to all students in attendance. More information will follow soon, so please be checking your emails!

We as the Collegiate NAfME Alabama state board have instituted our Chapter Buddy System this past summer. This new system provides collegiate pre-professional music educators with the tools they need to network with others in their future field. Music Educators often feel ostracized or singled out in their education systems and individual schools, especially in the more rural areas where they may be the only music educator for their school system. We as a Collegiate Board have been working to institute this new system to promote inclusion and to create and foster an environment of community and learning together. As educators we are never truly done learning, we will continue to learn from our peers, students, and mentors. With this Collegiate Chapter Buddy System we now have a facet of our organization specifically designed for collegians to connect with their peers before entering the professional world of music education. Now is the time to reach out and get to know our colleagues, there is a plethora of available knowledge and an opportunity for networking that we have yet to discover.

Here are the pairings for our Buddy Chapter System:

Alabama <-> UAB

Auburn <-> Troy

Montevallo <-> Samford <-> JSU

ASU <-> Faulkner <-> Miles College

UNA <-> A&M

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If you are a cNAfME chapter president and have had trouble contacting your buddy chapter, or have not received an email from the cNAfME Alabama State Board regarding your buddy chapter, please send me an email regarding your situation.

Lastly, we encourage you all to ensure you are registered for the AMEA Conference scheduled for January 16-18, 2020! There will be several opportunities for professional development, networking, and the opportunity for a free meal at our Collegiate Luncheon!

I hope to see many of you soon at our Collegiate Summit.

Warm Regards,

DeLee Benton
University of Montevallo

cNAfME Alabama President

dbenton@forum.montevallo.edu