{"id":218,"date":"2019-03-18T17:37:38","date_gmt":"2019-03-18T17:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wcsu.wpengine.com\/grad-spotlights\/?page_id=218"},"modified":"2019-05-02T16:14:33","modified_gmt":"2019-05-02T16:14:33","slug":"2019-christine-manalo","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/grad-spotlights\/2019-graduates-in-the-spotlight\/2019-christine-manalo\/","title":{"rendered":"Christine Manalo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\"imageHOMETOWN: Watertown, Connecticut<\/p>\n

MAJOR: Music Education (PreK-12), concentration in Classical Voice<\/p>\n

WCSU DEGREE: Bachelor of Science in Music Education<\/p>\n

ACTIVITIES: Accompanist for the WCSU University Choir and Concert Chorale; VPAC student crew; keyboardist for WCSU\u2019s “Evita”; National Association for Music Education (NAfME); WCSU Keyboard Club secretary; WCSU American Choral Director\u2019s Association secretary; WCSU Opera Club; performed in “Die Zauberfl\u00f6te” at the Yale Opera; part-time musical theatre vocal director at Watertown High School; private piano and voice instructor at Bethel Music Center, ABC Music School, The Easton Arts Center and Continuo Music at Home<\/p>\n

INTERNSHIPS: Student teaching at Vogel-Wetmore Elementary School and Danbury High School, co-ops at Pembroke Elementary School and Newtown Middle School<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

HONORS AND AWARDS: Graduating Cum Laude, Department of Music Chair’s Award, Second Place Winner at the National Opera Association\u2019s Collegiate Opera Scenes Division I (“Die Zauberfl\u00f6te”), First Place in New England NATS Upper and Lower College Division, First Place in CT NATS Upper and Lower College Division, 2018 James Furman Honors Recital Junior Class Winner<\/p>\n

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Christine Manalo spent a semester in 2014 at UConn with the intention of studying pharmacy. \u201cI quickly realized that that was not the path for me,\u201d she says. \u201cThe more I tried to study pharmacy, the more I found myself wanting to study music and pursue a career out of it. I\u2019ve always thought about majoring in music one day, but never really knew if I wanted to perform or teach. I wanted to be able to do something where I could not only do what I love, but also be able to teach others about what I love to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that in mind, Manalo decided to transfer to WCSU.<\/p>\n

\u201cWCSU\u2019s music education program has been and continues to be an excelling program that teaches students how to share their love of music and continue that legacy,\u201d Manalo says.<\/p>\n

Pharmacy labs became a thing of the past, and Manalo settled in to her music studies at WCSU. \u201cLaura Mashburn, my voice teacher, has taught me everything I know about singing, but also has guided me through the obstacles, no matter how big or small,\u201d she says. \u201cI am also thankful for Dr. Liang-Fang Chang for being my forever mentor and showing me the impossible can be possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked what she will remember most about her WCSU experience, Manalo says, \u201cWhile at WCSU, I was given the wonderful opportunity to study the role of one of the Three Spirits in the ‘Magic Flute.’ I was able to perform at the Shubert Theatre with the Yale Opera, and travel all the way to Salt Lake City to compete in the National Opera Association\u2019s Collegiate Opera Scenes to represent our school.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduation, Manalo says, \u201cI see myself working in an elementary school in the future. Graduate school for opera or collaborative piano is definitely something I want to pursue somewhere down the road!\u201d<\/p>\n

Her advice to new students entering WCSU is: \u201cYou can interpret a person\u2019s success by how they explain their failures and how they have learned from them. Everything that you do, whether it is a success or not, has led you to who you are today. Do something that makes you want to get out bed in the morning, that draws on your strengths and values, and gives you purpose to remember why you wanted to even do it in the first place. Don\u2019t miss out on any opportunities that college will give you, even if you think it\u2019s impossible. Go for it \u2013 do it anyway! Who knows where it\u2019ll lead you and you\u2019ll never know what doors will open up after that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HOMETOWN: Watertown, Connecticut MAJOR: Music Education (PreK-12), concentration in Classical Voice WCSU DEGREE: Bachelor of Science in Music Education ACTIVITIES: Accompanist for the WCSU University Choir and Concert Chorale; VPAC student crew; keyboardist for WCSU\u2019s “Evita”; National Association for Music …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":0,"parent":200,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-218","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/grad-spotlights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/grad-spotlights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/grad-spotlights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/grad-spotlights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/grad-spotlights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/grad-spotlights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/218\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/grad-spotlights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/grad-spotlights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}