{"id":211195,"date":"2025-11-26T13:44:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T18:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/?p=211195"},"modified":"2025-11-26T13:44:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T18:44:00","slug":"cali-student-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/2025\/11\/26\/cali-student-spotlight\/","title":{"rendered":"Cali Student Spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Highlighting the diverse journeys that lead students to Montclair, this potlight features Graduate Performance flutist Ashley Mendeke.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Could you start by telling us a little about your background and what brought you to the Cali School of Music?<\/strong> I\u2019m an Austin, TX native and earned my Bachelor\u2019s in Music Performance and Education from the University of North Texas. In 2013, I joined the West Point Band as a piccolo player with the Hellcats. While I was finishing basic training, my husband drove a U-Haul from Dallas to West Point \u2014 it\u2019s been an adventure ever since! Last fall, I told friends and colleagues I planned to return to school, and Keith Kile (Professor of Tuba) recommended the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/\">Cali School of Music<\/a>. I added Montclair to my list of options and scheduled a lesson with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/~witekt\">Flute Professor Tanya Witek<\/a>. I enjoyed working with her so much that I applied right away. Thanks to Montclair\u2019s rolling admission, I was able to start in Spring 2025, and I\u2019ve already gained so much from the experience, both as a musician and as a person.<\/li>\n<li><strong>You\u2019re also serving in the military while studying full time\u2014can you share a bit about your service experience?<\/strong> I enlisted in the Army in 2013 and arrived at West Point in 2014 upon completion of Basic Combat Training. I have performed several concerts, military functions, and high-visibility ceremonies representing West Point as a musical ambassador. My primary mission includes playing fife music for the United States Corps of Cadets. The cadets really love the piccolo, and I am grateful I\u2019ve been able to make a positive impact performing music that has been around for centuries.<\/li>\n<li><strong>What has it been like balancing your military commitments with your coursework and performances at Montclair State?<\/strong> Balancing my military commitments with my studies has been a unique challenge, so I focus on putting forth my best effort. Balancing these two commitments wouldn\u2019t be possible without support from my band\u2019s leadership team, the Montclair faculty, and most importantly my family, including my two cats.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Have the skills or discipline from your military service influenced your approach to music or academics?<\/strong> I\u2019m sure my experience in the Army has influenced my approach to music and academics, although I\u2019m not sure in which specific ways. My family tells me that I was always very disciplined growing up. In kindergarten, I would wake up and do Mickey Mouse Aerobics before school.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Are there particular classes, professors, or ensembles that have had a strong impact on your development?<\/strong> I\u2019ve grown as a flutist in my lessons with Professor Witek. I appreciate her feedback and ear. Also, preparing for weekly lessons for the first time since 2009 has been immensely helpful to my practice! I\u2019m looking at you, long tones! I also appreciated my classes with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/~dadians\">Professor Susan Dadian<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/~silvermanm\">Dr. Marissa Silverman<\/a> last semester. I\u2019ve felt very inspired in my time at Montclair and the Cali School of Music!<\/li>\n<li><strong>What advice would you give to new students entering the Cali School of Music, especially those balancing school with other major responsibilities?<\/strong> Be kind to yourself. The more we give ourselves the more we can ask of ourselves. I lived many years as a perfectionist, and it just doesn\u2019t work. I believe that self-compassion is a more sustainable and joyful approach to living and it only adds to our music. It\u2019s something I\u2019m working on in my own life and something I hope to share with my future students.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ashley Mendeke<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":211196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-211195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-153_music","category-news-and-announcements"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211195"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":211197,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211195\/revisions\/211197"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/arts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}