The evening’s sun glared down on the assemblage of the marching band, scorching their cheeks and blazing the field’s turf. After a major screw-up during practice in class prior to the evening, directors insisted that their rehearsal would be extended an hour longer, stretching into the night until ten. Sophomore Abbie Fuller felt the fatigue weighing down the rhythm of her steps among her other exhausted band members.

In a sudden halt of the symphony, Mr. Adam Beaupre, assistant band director, takes hold of the stage.

“The children are requesting a water break,” Mr. Beaupre ordered.

Abbie Fuller recalls this memory as her first time she felt seen by Mr. Beaupre.

“We went hours without a break in between that practice. You could even hear from the pit how everyone was in need of some sort of water break,” she said. “He recognized the pain and work we’ve been putting through that night and stood up for us.”

Coming from a school band that expected their students to flip open their songbooks and pick up the music by themselves, moving to the Munster district and joining the band her freshman year opened Abbie’s eyes to a world beyond what she’s ever experienced before.

From working through individual sections with his students to buying packs of Globbles for the band to toss at the ceiling, Mr. Beaupre makes each one of his students feel seen and welcome to be a part of the assembly.

“He cares more about the children than the music,” she said. “He’s always valued us and our mental health before anything else.” 

Mr. Beaupre illuminated a new pathway for Abbie, inspiring her to become a teacher or a band director like himself and influencing a generation of children herself.

“Since I’ve joined the band here, it’s made me reconsider my job choices,” she said. “If I’d ever decide on becoming a teacher, he’s the kind of teacher I’d want to be.”