{"id":216945,"date":"2025-12-02T10:09:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T15:09:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/?p=216945"},"modified":"2025-12-02T10:09:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T15:09:58","slug":"cali-student-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/2025\/12\/02\/cali-student-spotlight\/","title":{"rendered":"Cali Student Spotlight: Ashley Mendeke"},"content":{"rendered":"

Could you start by telling us a little about your background and what brought you to the Cali School of Music?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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 Cali School of Music. I added Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ to my list of options and scheduled a lesson with Flute Professor Tanya Witek. I enjoyed working with her so much that I applied right away. Thanks to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ\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.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re also serving in the military while studying full time\u2014can you share a bit about your service experience?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

What has it been like balancing your military commitments with your coursework and performances at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ State?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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 Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ faculty, and most importantly my family, including my two cats.<\/p>\n

Have the skills or discipline from your military service influenced your approach to music or academics?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Are there particular classes, professors, or ensembles that have had a strong impact on your development?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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 Professor Susan Dadian and Dr. Marissa Silverman last semester. I\u2019ve felt very inspired in my time at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and the Cali School of Music!<\/p>\n

What advice would you give to new students entering the Cali School of Music, especially those balancing school with other major responsibilities?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Highlighting the diverse journeys that lead students to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, this month\u2019s spotlight features Graduate Performance flutist Ashley Mendeke.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":189,"featured_media":216946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-216945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/189"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216945"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":216948,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216945\/revisions\/216948"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/john-j-cali-school-of-music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}