Alumni Susan Benna has taken on the responsibility of digital music production, American Music, and the marching band all in her first year as a teacher.

Benna has always been into music. She has been playing piano for 16 years and flute since fourth grade while participating in many music-related extracurriculars. She also teaches piano lessons.

She graduated from York College in May with a Bachelor of Science in Music Education. She began looking for a job in her last semester of college.

Benna decided to come back because of her love for the school, the community, and the legacy that the music program has.

As a student, Benna played in a concert band, jazz band, the pit for musicals, choir, and woodwind quintet.

When asked about her school experience, she named band director Matthew Barr and chorus director Samantha Garner as influential teachers.

They reflect on Benna as a positive leader in the classroom.

“Mrs. Benna was an enthusiastic student. No matter what I was teaching, she was always eager to learn and try new things,” said Garner. “Mrs. Benna was a natural leader – people respected her and followed her example.”

Barr has nothing but positive memories of Benna as well.

“When she was a student of mine she exhibited outstanding musicianship, infectious positivity, and uncommonly good people skills,” said Barr.

Teachers that had a positive impact on her life weren’t just high school teachers, she also mentioned her piano teacher at York College.

“My college piano teacher helped me realize how good I was and how much potential I had,” said Benna.

Benna loves teaching here because she loves the kids, the teachers, and the goats. Though she mentions it is weird to call teachers by their first names, she says it gives her a sense of homeliness to come back.

She would like to get more involved in band, chorus, and orchestra, along with teaching about the music industry and how you can make a living in music without necessarily becoming a performer.

Benna said music can make a large impact on people, and she hopes to make this impact on her students with social and emotional learning, along with many different styles to introduce them to music they might not have known about before.

“Music can impact emotions. It can be an outlet for emotional expression,” said Benna, “Music is universal, it can bring people together.”

Besides music, she loves adventuring, traveling, animals, and riding horses.