The most popular component of the class with many of the students is the assigned service portion. Each week students visit either Hope House, which offers services to children affected by HIV/AIDS, or the Parkview, an independent living community for seniors. “That was the most interesting thing we did. I would go to the Parkview and lead the residents to interact musically,” Sarah Catanzaro ’16, a music major, says. “They loved playing music, and it had a really calming effect.” Genter, who visited Hope House, noticed the effects of music on the children with whom he spent time. “You could really see how much the kids changed over the 10-week span. They went from being shy and reserved to giving you hugs and high-fives when you walked into the room. They really came out of their shells. It was fun to see them having so much fun,” he says.
drum circle there. We could do great work with veterans,” Kreitner says. The fact that students have the opportunity to experience in her classroom what they then share in the community hits home. “Learning about music without performing or listening to it is not effective. In class, we were able to learn how it heals in a very personal and intimate way, and that it’s something you have to experience for yourself,” Catanzaro, of Chattanooga, TN, says. “She engaged us, which made the material much more accessible.” Kreitner’s student base covers a lot of ground, within all academic areas of the college. She says there’s something universal about her class. “I hope they’re learning to understand the importance of music as a part of the human experience,” Kreitner says.
Kreitner hopes to include another establishment in her clinical services component this fall—the Memphis VA Medical Center. “My friend is a psychologist there who works with veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. I hope to start a
Genter is definitely on board. “Now I notice there’s music all around you,” he says.
first time I say this; I acknowledge him on a regular basis for the difference he has made in my life. I was not a child prodigy artist; I still go to great lengths to avoid drawing and painting. He brought my 3-D, sculptural talent to the fore, however, and gave me the intellectual knowledge to be able to talk about and analyze what
I see. He gave me permission to use my individual perspective to be aware of my world. I became an interior designer after all! What a gift!
rhodes.edu
Mona Kreitner.indd 37
— Isabell VanMerlin ’66
SUMMER 2014 • RHODE S
37
7/8/14 1:42 PM