Today's #ThankfulThursday goes to Mr. Eric Mendez for being a teacher, conductor, and mentor to young students in our community. Mr. Mendez grew up playing the Trombone and Euphonium throughout his time in school. He is now a music teacher and the band director at Maitland Middle School and teaches band and jazz band for sixth through eighth graders. In addition to his work with Maitland Middle, Mr. Mendez is a regular sectional coach and guest conductor for FSYO.
We asked Mr. Mendez when he realized he wanted to be a teacher, he said, "I was in high school and had tremendous respect for my music teachers. I knew then that I would want to help students be the best they could be in the high school band because I saw the value of this organization for developing young people into good citizens". Once realizing his desire to teach, Mr. Mendez went to Valencia Community College and then Florida State University to obtain a Bachelor degree in Music Education.
After graduating college, Mr. Mendez went on to start his teaching career at Lake Gibson Junior High in Lakeland, Florida. Once he was engaged to be married, he moved to Orlando where he taught at Jackson Heights Middle School for a year. At the end of that year, a fellow FSU alum called him to interview at Discovery Middle School and he taught there for seven years. In 2001, he began teaching at Maitland Middle School as the co-band director and within three years became the full band director.
Mr. Mendez enjoys watching students progress from beginners to artists that can make music happen at a high level within three years. When asked why he believes music education is important to teach, he said, "Music is the language of the human heart. Anyone who grows up without a knowledge of it grows up without one of the most important aspects of human creativity".
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