In many cases, individuals find what they are passionate about at a young age. For instance, when he was two years old, Victor Wooten, a world-renowned musician, discovered his love for the bass guitar.

  Sophomore Kellen Tiffany is another prime example of a person who has promptly found their dream—wanting to become a high school band director. Taking steps toward this occupation, Tiffany participates in a multitude of activities that revolve around his interest and the music industry, such as school, garage, and community bands.

   Tiffany started his musical journey in the sixth grade, performing with his trombone for Northwest’s band program for nearly half a decade. In addition to the school-instituted band program, Tiffany demonstrates his adoration for music by playing his trombone for honors bands and other programs such as the Jackson Youth Symphony Orchestra.

    “I love the whole field of music, and I find it fascinating that it can put you in different moods and different places,” said Tiffany.

  Since his first year attending Northwest High School, Tiffany has known he wants to teach music to high school students. He gets the majority of his inspiration from Northwest’s band director, Bryan Mangiavellano.

   “During marching band, he [Mangiavellano] always said to rep it out, but he made it fun,” Tiffany said.

  Orchestrating much of his life around his love for music, Tiffany actively and persistently makes choices to improve his playing ability. For example, Tiffany has participated in private lesson programs.

   “It focused a lot on intonation and tone… I was kind of tone deaf, and over the years, I have grown a little bit more and understood how to tell sharp from flat,” Tiffany said.

   Tiffany believes that a person does not have to know exactly what they want to do with their life right away, but that decision comes when they are passionate.

   “I did not know what I wanted to do, and that intimidated me because people knew that they wanted to become a doctor or a lawyer… you did not need to decide right away. They had a passion,” Tiffany said.

   Tiffany continues to intentionally pursue his ultimate goal of becoming an astounding high school band director, encouraging those who have found their passion to follow it as much as they can and promoting to students who have not found what they want to do as an occupation to search for a job that they love.