I recently learned that Motto magazine named my alma mater’s maxim one of the top 10 best college mottos in the country. I used to drive past the words, etched in stone at the bottom of a large sign at the university entrance, every day on my way to school: “Enter to learn; go forth to serve.” The motto creates an inspiring picture of the purpose of education and what so many institutions hope their students will do: gain knowledge and then share it with others.
Learning while in college seems to go without saying, but “entering” to learn implies action and involvement in the process. Included in this issue are a variety of articles to help you make the most of your college years. Find out how to make the most of the required elective classes by stepping outside of the music building. Learn how to create your own performing opportunities on campus, and read about schools that are helping students build their résumés by providing professional singing opportunities off campus.
As oft-repeated mottos teeter on the edge of becoming platitudes, variations often emerge. One parody I commonly heard—“Enter to learn; go forth to earn”—seemed a better joke for the business school, or the law school, not the music school. Too many of us worried that our diplomas might just turn out to be a joke when it came time to earn a living.
More and more schools are addressing this quandary, as Angela Myles Beeching reports in this issue. Career centers, business classes, and entrepreneurial symposiums at universities across the country are helping to educate music students on the realities of life after school and how to “prep for the real world.”
Even knowing about the limited earning potential of a career in music, many of us are drawn to the profession because we recognize the powerful potential of music. We want to use our gift to “go forth and serve.” This month’s Bulletin Board highlights a story about “El Sistema,” a truly inspirational program that started in Venezuela and is now spreading worldwide. It gives inner city children the opportunity to learn to play an instrument, and the music literally changes their lives.
Varying the word order of this motto creates a statement perhaps even more apropos for the college experience and what follows: “Enter to serve; go forth to learn.” Learning is not reserved strictly for the school years, nor is serving only for the time following school. As Dan Montez points out in his discussion on whether a diploma is really necessary for success as a professional singer, there are endless ways and means for acquiring knowledge, school being but one.
Whether we find ourselves in the classroom or with the diploma hanging on our wall, our lives should encompass both serving and learning. May you find within these pages inspiration for both.
