I like working with children and I have volunteered for several community groups that involve youngsters in active learning. Japanese taiko drumming is my favorite group. For more than a decade, I have been playing the drums and now I mentor the younger team members and teach them how to perform. As part of my teaching, I have made instructional tutorials for them that they can practice from their home computers while online. I enjoy how each child has their own different way of learning and yet we all come together as a team. My interest in taiko took a different turn this last summer when I started learning how to build the drums out very large, old, oak wine casks. It is a fascinating process with many steps that take a long time to finish.

I have almost completed my transfer degree and, like several others in my family, I’m starting the one-year certificate in Multimedia Design as my area of focus. I’m not quite sure what kind of job I’d like to pursue but I’m looking forward to finding out more about the multimedia field during this year. My experiences creating homemade video tutorials for teaching taiko drumming have increased my interest in learning more about teaching with multimedia.

By H.M.