A Rochester student paved the way for a school to hire a new music teacher for the next three years – Post Bulletin

ROCHESTER — A single high school senior is the reason hundreds of students will have access to a music program for the next three years.

That senior is Ramon Campos. And last year, he won a challenge called Let Music Fill Your World, which allowed him to donate $300,000 to the organization of his choice. Because of that, Rochester Public Schools’ Alternative Learning Center is getting a music teacher.

As a musician himself who wasn’t able to get a teacher for a number of years, it was an initiative he felt was important. In his submission for the challenge, Campos used an instrument called an oamatone and showed the progress people made over the course of just an hour.

“I think it will go to show how important teachers are, and why we need more of them,” Campos said in his video.

The ALC is in the process of trying to find a teacher to fill the role. ALC Principal Tim Limberg said although the school has had music classes before, they’ve had to utilize teachers they already had in the building who didn’t specialize in the subject.

This, he said, will be a chance for a trained music teacher to work with the students in a variety of different ways based on the experience and interests of the students.

Because of its unique structure as a place for non-traditional learning, the ALC has both a day program and an evening program. Limberg said he would like to find somebody for the role that could work with both groups of students.

“Music has a way of uniting people,” Limberg said. “It also has a way of providing some calmness and some therapy to our students.”

Despite how significant his contribution to the ALC may be, it was actually just one of the things Campos was able to accomplish through the music challenge. The reason he stumbled upon the music challenge in the first place was because he was looking for ways to support the Donut Dash, which is a fundraiser the Mayo High School’s cross country team does.

The

same music challenge

that allowed Campos to donate $300,000 to the ALC also provided him with $10,000 that he was able to use for the student led- 5K fundraiser which raises money to go toward the Boys and Girls Club.

Now a high school senior, Campos has been teaching violin for the past several years — often providing lessons for free or at a reduced price.

Teaching has impacted his own life, as he’s come to appreciate both the art and the science of it.

Now, it’s something that he has been able to give to a larger group of students than just those who he works with directly.

“Part of my inspiration for doing that was because I was introduced to playing violin through Rochester Public Schools,” Campos said. “That was kind of my inspiration for it — how important having a teacher is.”