Putt ’25 and Mullen ’26 Participated in NAfME’s Hill Day

Brennon Putt ’25 (Bachelor of Music in Music Education) and Emily Mullen ’26 (Bachelor of Music in Music Education) participated in the National Association for Music Education’s (NAfME) Hill Day in June. Putt serves as president of the Collegiate VMEA organization (CoVMEA) and Mullen serves as the secretary of CoVMEA. Hill Day provides a valuable professional development experience for both students as they continue to serve their CoVMEA positions and bring back many discussed ideas back to their peers in Virginia, in preparation for the Virginia Music Education Association (VMEA) Conference, occurring from Nov. 21, through Nov. 23, in Norfolk, Virginia.

NAfME’s Hill Day is the concluding experience for the NAfME Collegiate Leadership Advocacy Summit (CLAS), which took place from Monday, June 10, through Wednesday, June 24, in Reston, Virginia, with Hill Day occurring on Wednesday, June 12, in Washington, D.C. The multi-day event included an orientation to advocacy, legislative visits on Capitol Hill alongside NAfME state and national leaders, and intensive leadership training, plus numerous networking opportunities with student advocates and NAfME leaders.

As part of the Hill Day visit, Putt and Mullen were able to meet with various legislative aides of Virginia legislators, including a unique opportunity to meet Representative Ben Cline (VA-06) outside the House Floor. This day involved strategic planning with various NAfME state leaders, including Shenandoah alumni Alice Hammel ’87, ’99 (Bachelor of Music in Music Education, Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Education), Kevin Vigil ’04 (Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance) and Patrick Ware ’09 (Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Education), among others.

“Shenandoah was very proud to have five current students and alumni represent Virginia on Capitol Hill last week to lobby congressmen and senators on behalf of music education,” said Dr. Hammel.