Jacob Miner ’20, a music performance major who studies the flute, has taken full advantage of many experiential learning opportunities during his time at the University of Redlands—from the men’s swim and dive team to student government. He spoke recently at the Celebrating Endowment luncheon during Homecoming and Parents' Weekend. Here are his remarks.
I am so excited to share my Redlands experience with you. I would like to extend my appreciation to all who are here. I am currently a senior, which means I am sadly finishing my undergraduate studies at the University. I cannot help but reflect on my time at Redlands and what it has done for me. A number of things come to mind.
I think of the places I have been able to go, people I have come to know, the music I have learned, and mostly the times this community has shown me such grace.
Because of endowment, due to the Horton Family Aquatics Travel Fund, I have been able to represent Bulldog Athletics in Iowa and Texas, being a part of the largest team of divers we have sent to a regional competition.
The Memorial Chapel houses the organ cared for through the Elsie Card Casavant Organ Maintenance Fund. The organ performance is arguably the most prized part of the Feast of Lights that we all know and love. After this season, I will have been in my third Feast of Lights and will forever be able to say that I am a part of 72 years of tradition.
I have met and worked with American composer Christopher Theofanidis, performing his duet for two flutes; have performed as a soloist for musicians from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, and Lincoln Center; and have received coaching from the Zephyros Woodwind Quintet.
Aside from being phenomenal professors within the classroom, Co Nguyen, Nicholle Andrews, Katie Baber, and my flute professor, Sara Andon, have personally invested so much of themselves in my education.
I consider the team in Student Involvement and Success—Erin Sanborn, Alex Ries, and Darci Manzo Piron—to not only be our advisors for ASUR [Associated Students of the University of Redlands], but my life coaches, too! I am inspired by the work of University Dean of Student Affairs Donna Eddleman and Senior Associate Dean Ken Grcich. The experiential learning I have had between the School of Music and Student Affairs has deepened my passion for the arts and opened a new passion for the student affairs profession.
With all that being said, what is most special to me is knowing I am able to have these experiences due to support from the Quincy Brown Memorial Endowed Scholarship and the Lynn Louise Clark Endowed Scholarship.
This is how endowment has personally impacted me.
This act of generosity frequently impacts the lives of many other students, assists in upholding the University’s longstanding traditions, and can even become an opportunity for new ideas and growth. I invite my fellow students to find additional ways that endowment plays a role in their educational career.
Now, as I mentioned, I am very close to graduation. I am going to save you the energy and ask myself the dreaded “What are you going to do next?” question. I am currently in the process of filling out applications for master’s programs in music and also master’s programs in higher education.
I would like to close with a statement from the University’s Forever Yours campaign materials that truly impacted me.
But, before we get to that, I would like to recount a recent experience. I was recently at an event where I had the opportunity to meet two alumni from the Class of 1962. After connecting over shared experiences, I told them I simply wanted to know more about their experiences, special moments, traditions, anything they wanted to tell me!
We both came to the same realization that we feel as if this University was made for us to be there.
This made me quite emotional, and it showed when I was asked to speak later that evening. The idea that Bulldogs, separated by decades, expressed the same sentiments within minutes of conversation, was special.
“Forever Yours means what you love about Redlands today will be here for all time, preserved by the generations before us and enhanced by the generations that follow.”
Thank you so much for what you all have done and thank you for allowing me to be here and share my story.
Learn more about studying in the School of Music, participating in Bulldog Athletics, and giving to the Forever Yours campaign.
