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<strong>Biola</strong>ns Up Close<br />
Melissa Piotrowski Makes<br />
Music Therapeutic<br />
Though she’s barely out of college, Melissa<br />
Piotrowski (’07) has wasted no time<br />
in applying her education to the real<br />
world. At <strong>Biola</strong> she studied psychology and<br />
music, and she’s using both in her life today.<br />
A pianist since age 6 and cellist since 13,<br />
Pietrowski currently teaches private piano and<br />
cello lessons and also works as a behavior therapist<br />
with kids who have special needs. She<br />
recently shared her story with <strong>Biola</strong> Magazine.<br />
I currently live in Orange County and am working<br />
two jobs. I work as a behavior therapist for an<br />
agency that provides behavior therapy services to<br />
children with autism and I teach piano and cello<br />
lessons at Rancho Canyon Music, a music studio<br />
and store in Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.). I<br />
have been working at both jobs for about a year,<br />
and I really enjoy it. Music has always been an<br />
important part of my life and I love sharing it<br />
with others!<br />
I do behavior therapy with children diagnosed<br />
with autism every morning and three afternoons<br />
a week. The other two afternoons and Saturday<br />
mornings I teach music lessons. Right now I<br />
have about 20 students. My students range in<br />
age from 4 to adult and their skills range from<br />
beginner to advanced. Some of them have<br />
ADHD, autism or other developmental disabilities.<br />
I have been blessed to have some of the<br />
sweetest kids I’ve ever met as my students.<br />
Melissa Piotrowski<br />
At A Glance<br />
Education: B.A. in Psychology, <strong>Biola</strong>.<br />
Local Church: Calvary Chapel<br />
Favorite composers: Beethoven, Chopin,<br />
Dvorak, Ravel, Grieg, Bach, Scott Joplin,<br />
George Gershwin.<br />
Favorite contemporary musicians:<br />
Sufjan Stevens, Belle and Sebastian,<br />
Regina Spektor, Simon and Garfunkel,<br />
John Lennon.<br />
Favorite Scripture: Isaiah 61: 1-3<br />
Other interests: Reading, writing, learning<br />
to do ballet, traveling.<br />
W I N T E R ’ 0 9<br />
They are dedicated, talented,<br />
creative and a lot of fun.<br />
I was exposed to the idea of<br />
teaching music to special needs<br />
students at a music therapy intern -<br />
ship I did when I was a junior at<br />
<strong>Biola</strong>. I met a lot of very talented<br />
adults there who were diagnosed<br />
with various developmental disabilities<br />
or mental disorders. Seeing the<br />
way music played such a strong role in<br />
augmenting the quality of their lives was<br />
touching and really exciting. At this time<br />
I was already teaching music lessons,<br />
but I began to teach kids with disabilities<br />
as well.<br />
There are definitely some<br />
unique challenges in<br />
this type of work. When<br />
working with kids with<br />
special needs, it helps to<br />
break things down into the<br />
simplest form poss ible,<br />
and then slowly connect ideas<br />
together. A lot of<br />
en cour agement also<br />
helps, be cause learning<br />
to play, read and under -<br />
stand music is challenging<br />
and can easily<br />
get frustrating!<br />
I was a psychology major at <strong>Biola</strong> but I took<br />
a lot of music classes as well. This was the perfect<br />
combination to get me ready for my current<br />
field of work. Music prepared me for<br />
teaching; psychology has helped me with the<br />
therapy part. Some times in the behavior therapy<br />
sessions I incorporate music, which the<br />
kids really respond to and the parents love,<br />
especially when it turns out that their child has<br />
some talent!<br />
I am planning on attending graduate school<br />
next fall to work towards a master’s degree in psychology<br />
with a concentration in applied behavior<br />
analysis. My ultimate goal is to get a Ph.D. in clinical<br />
psychology and work with children and adults<br />
with developmental disorders.<br />
Tom Fluharty<br />
I know that no matter what I do, music will<br />
always be a part of it because of the way it reaches<br />
right into a person’s mind and heart. It is a wonderful<br />
gift we have and it should be shared with<br />
everyone.<br />
At <strong>Biola</strong>, I played cello in the symphony orchestra<br />
as well as in a quartet, and frequently played in<br />
chapel. I recently joined the Irvine Community<br />
Orchestra because I’ve missed the experience of<br />
playing in an orchestra. I’m hoping that wherever<br />
I go to grad school I will also be able to play in<br />
an ensemble.<br />
The things I miss most about <strong>Biola</strong> are tomato<br />
basil bagels with hazelnut coffee from Common<br />
Grounds!<br />
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