Schools

Teacher Spotlight: Tonya O' Malley

The Sunlake High band director reaps the rewards of long days and sometimes sleepless nights.

Sunlake High School's band director Tonya O'Malley always wanted to be a musician.

"I begged my parents for piano lessons when I was 8," she said.

As a young girl, she thought she might be a singer, but when she joined her high school's band, "I was inspired by the team aspect of it," she said.

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She also discovered she was better at playing the French horn than she was as a vocalist, she said.

A graduate of Bowling Green State University in Ohio, O'Malley moved to Pasco County in 2006. Before accepting her current position at Sunlake in 2009, O'Malley was a middle school teacher.

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"That made me really appreciate high schoolers," she laughed.

There is a lot involved in putting together a competitive band, and not all high school bands compete, she said. But after seeing how motivated her students were, she felt she had the right group to take the band to a competitive level.

"It's a lot of really hard work and really long days," O'Malley said. "There is nothing in the world that would make me do this if it weren't for the kids."

And those "kids" appreciate her efforts.

"She's really supportive and always has the right thing to say," drum major Katelyn Ngyuyen said. "One of the reasons I want to become a band director is so I can be just like her."

O'Malley said the biggest stressor for her is the financial situation with school arts programs. Though Sunlake's music programs have not seen funding cuts, the money available has not kept pace with the growing program, O'Malley said.

"We are borrowing instruments, and I am always trying to figure out ways to raise money so I can get the students to competitions and other events," O'Malley said. "That's the stuff that keeps me up at night."

Sometimes during summer break, when the fatigue is finally allowed to set in, "I think 'Why do I do this to myself,' " O'Malley said. "But all I have to do is think about a couple of kids who need this. The relationships I get to have with the kids and the reward of seeing them succeed is worth it."

And their efforts are paying off.

Sunlake's band received superior ratings at the . At the FBA semifinals Nov. 19, the band placed 6th, coming close to qualifying for the state finals.

"Last year we finished 15th and received a 79, so it was quite an improvement for us!" O'Malley said.

"I credit most of our bands success to the work of my students, my hired band staff, and the parent volunteers.  I personally have only been teaching high school for three years and on top of that I'm four months pregnant, so there is no way my students could have had the kind of success they have had without such an amazing staff and group of parents," O'Malley wrote in an email.


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