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My name is Pim, Parintorn Pankaew. Currently, I am a junior student majoring in music therapy at the University of Georgia. I was born in a small beach town on the gulf of Thailand, Huahin. I played piano since I was young and knew that I wanted to be a musician. Soon after, I attended music high school, presently known as Young Artist Music Program International Music Boarding School, as a piano performance major. During high school, I met a music therapy professor from West Virginia University and observed her presentation. That was when I knew I wanted to mix my knowledge of music and science to help people.
I first attended West Virginia University for 2 years. Then, I transferred to the University of Georgia. When I was at West Virginia University, I was a recipient of West Virginia Community Educational Outreach Service scholarship. In return for the scholarship, I had to travel around West Virginia and presented about my country, my education, and my major. I was nervous at first because I had to present to over 500 people around West Virginia in English. I also felt unprepared musically because I would have to sing and play guitar, which are not my primary instruments. I looked at the bright side. It would help me get out of my comfort zone.
Not surprisingly, many people didn’t know about music therapy. Some of them almost didn’t believe that music therapy is a thing. It was always interesting to see how people reacted when they heard about music therapy, such as how music impacts our brain. If an opportunity was given, I would played piano. Sometimes, I brought my guitar along and I played a couple songs and presented short interventions, so people would have a better understanding of music therapy. Although most of my audiences don’t have any particular problem or disease, music therapy was still effective to get their attention. However, some people knew about music therapy. It was truly pleasant to hear that they knew about music therapy, someone they know were in the music therapy program, and how music therapy could have positive effects on them or people around them. One girl from the 4-H camp came up to me after the presentation. She said that she also played music and now she wanted to study music therapy. I was so thrilled to hear that. It also made me realize that music therapy is one of the jobs that make a difference in people’s lives, and that is the most rewarding careers. I really learned a lot from this opportunity. Giving presentations and sharing the knowledge of music therapy were truly the push I needed to succeed in my education.
Parintorn Pankaew
