Behind the Scenes of Mia’s Music Internship

Here at Blake, we’re offered a bunch of different programs, such as the ACES program, Edison, and internships for seniors. However, Blake’s internships aren’t talked about as much compared to Edison and ACES.

In this case, Mia, who is one of Blake’s many seniors, has an internship in music! She plans to become a music educator here in Maryland. Mia feels “satisfied teaching wherever teaching in Montgomery County… because it’s kind of close to home. I don’t want to go too far up Maryland or too far down.”

Mia has a ton of experience with music, as she started in third grade playing the recorder and then began to play the violin throughout fourth and fifth grade. Once she got to middle school, she made the switch to cello and has stuck with it since. Mia is currently a part of Blake’s String Quintet! She also learned how to make music online using programs like BandLab. Mia shared that her parents are extremely supportive of her as they upgraded her equipment. 

Initially, her path to becoming a music teacher began when she was promoted from 8th to 9th grade. Mia adored her middle school music teacher and wanted everyone to have someone like her in their life, as she said, “I remember very vividly that my middle school music teacher was one of my biggest influencers.” Mia’s middle school teacher is her biggest reason for starting to pave her way toward becoming a music teacher. 

Mia works with elementary school kids, but more specifically, children with autism, sharing that she’s “finding out that the more interactive a lesson is, the more information they absorb and retain.” Seemingly, you can learn a lot from the internship, and it will be useful for the future. Even if you decide not to become a teacher, taking the Teacher Academy of Maryland track here at Blake is very beneficial. While it is focused on teaching, “if you have the credentials under your belt in college, you can work with children without being a teacher,” Mia adds. 

Bengals, if your plan after high school involves working with children, you should consider participating in an internship in your senior year!