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 on May 6.
Douthit, a music education major with a choral emphasis, has taken full advantage of various opportunities at CU Boulder. 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’s class, where he learned valuable teaching skills. “You should always get to know your professors whenever you can. They’re here to help you—and they want to get to know you too.”
This past semester was perhaps the busiest yet as Douthit began student teaching full time. He says it’s been rewarding and exciting to be in front of a classroom every day. “Student teaching is a great way to learn by doing. It’s really challenging but I’m learning a lot.”
As graduation nears, he says the best piece of advice he could give other students is to take advantage of every opportunity. “What’s been really fun for me is staying curious about a lot of different things,” he says. “There are so many resources here to help you learn about a wide breadth of things.”
As he and his classmates enter the professional world—Douthit hopes to land a full-time teaching position in the next three to five years—he says they must keep in mind that learning doesn’t 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,” 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