Born in São Paulo and raised in Brasília, Brazil to Korean parents, my experiences are as diverse as my upbringing. Having trained in classical guitar with Doug Burris, Bruce Holzman, and João Paulo Figueiroa, I am a guitarist but an educator first.
I was tremendously inspired to extract one’s potential by my first guitar teacher, Burris, who uncovered music deep within me in high school. So, I went off to the College of Music at Florida State University to develop my classical guitar technique and to pursue my passion for teaching and learning with a music education degree. With my BME at hand, I left to South Korea to teach music and movement to young students of English for two incredible years.
Educational technology and instructional design, another byproduct of Burris’ work with me, formalized during my time at Teachers College, Columbia University. I went from knowing very little about computers other than typing and Paint, to creating digital music sheets on Finale music notation software thanks to Burris’ exposure to Macs and music technology tools. At Columbia, I served as their Tech Fellow for two years as I focused my studies on student-centered pedagogy. I received my M.A. in Music and Music Education in 2013.
I am now the Assistant Director of Educational Technologies at SUNY Empire State College where I also teach undergraduate music and educational technology/instructional design courses.
I live in Roosevelt Island, New York City with my husband and son.