It has been a great couple of weeks for Chas Douthit as he approaches graduation. Last week he received an from the College Music, and this week he will address fellow graduates as the honored student speaker at the College of Music Commencement Ceremony聽on May 6.
Douthit, a music education major with a choral emphasis, has taken full advantage of various opportunities at CU Boulder.聽Not all college music programs invite undergraduates to participate in full-scale operas, but Douthit has played roles in four operas during his four years at CU Boulder. He has been singing with the vocal jazz ensemble, Table for Five, and he was a for Associate Professor Susan Jurow鈥檚 class, where he learned valuable teaching skills. 鈥淵ou should always get to know your professors whenever you can. They鈥檙e here to help you鈥攁nd they want to get to know you too.鈥�
This past semester was perhaps the busiest yet as Douthit began student teaching full time. He says it鈥檚 been rewarding and exciting to be in front of a classroom every day. 鈥淪tudent teaching is a great way to learn by doing. It鈥檚 really challenging but I鈥檓 learning a lot.鈥�
As graduation nears, he says the best piece of advice he could give other students is to take advantage of every opportunity.聽鈥淲hat鈥檚 been really fun for me is staying curious about a lot of different things,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here are so many resources here to help you learn about a wide breadth of things.鈥�
As he and his classmates enter the professional world鈥擠outhit hopes to land a full-time teaching position in the next three to five years鈥攈e says they must keep in mind that learning doesn鈥檛 end with earning a degree.
"You have to be humble, and not let the differences between your actual self and your ideal self bring you down,鈥� he says. "I've learned that you must love and be kind to yourself exactly where you are in your learning."
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Related Faculty: Susan Jurow