Getting started with StAR.(Forum Focus: Collegiate Chapters)(Student Achievement Recognition Award)(Viewpoint essay)

"I don't have time for this." I bet you've said that, or at least thought it, several times in the last few days. Here you are with finals approaching and you've got a huge paper due for Music History, a composition to write for Theory IV, countless projects for those methods classes.... Oh, and that pesky jury coming up in a few weeks, which you are feeling less than prepared for. (Okay, truth time. You still have three pages of the Brahms and one page of the Haydn left to memorize.) There are also finals and the annual end of the semester recital to worry about. In addition, your friends and academic advisor want you to be president of the newest music organization on campus. And your professors nominated you for the MTNA StAR (Student Achievement Recognition) Award. Courtesy of StAR, you have one year of free membership in MTNA, and the professional members of the local organization have been sending you invitations to attend their monthly meetings. You're flattered but know you don't really have time. However, the meetings do sound kind of interesting and the people you've talked to seem nice. What do you do?

I was a StAR Award recipient several years ago. I received lovely written invitations and even a few phone calls from some very nice men and women inviting me to attend the local chapter meeting. The topics were intriguing, and since I had just graduated from college I felt it was important to start networking with teachers in my area. I attended a meeting and before I knew it I was invited to sit on the Executive Board of the local organization. The board members found the perfect job for me, the new college graduate: hospitality chair. This fun position allowed me to meet a lot of people, as well as take an active role in the leadership of the group. I was able to network with nearly all of the active members in the organization and ease myself into the chapter without over-committing myself. Seven years later I am still on the board, having held several offices. The one thing I didn't expect was the tight-knit fellowship among the entire organization. Not only did I make great teaching ...