Jen Sharp in small town Virginia
After nearly 10 years at Andersen Consulting/Accenture based out of the Washington, DC office, I struck out on my own doing team building and organizational consulting, in part to get into a more specific and enjoyable line of work, but also in the hopes of having more control over my schedule so I could make more time for music. (Spending 50-75% of my time out of town and/or working 60-80 hour work-weeks didn't allow for much singing, either practicing or performing, and I really missed
it.)
The jump was sparked by multiple factors: increasing dissatisfaction with my career in that I didn't feel like I was making much of a difference in life, the death in 1998 of Sara Nance (DHS 1990, classmate of my brother's and family friend) from cystic fibrosis, training for and completing my first Washington DC AIDS Ride in 1999 after reconstructive hip surgery in 1995, and also in 1999 meeting my now-husband who, through his incredible support has allowed me to be who I really am.
Anyway, I left Andersen in spring of 2000 and later that year found myself applying to go back to school for music. We almost moved cross-country, but in the end stayed on the east coast. In the summer of 2001, we got engaged, bought a house in a little town (population 500!) near Winchester, Virginia (about 70 miles west of DC), and that fall I started a second bachelor's degree at Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester. (Attending intro-level classes with 17 and 18 year olds when I was over 30 was interesting, to say the least! And academic politics? Very different from the corporate world....) I graduated in May 2004 at the top of my class (much better grades than I'd gotten at Hopkins - hmmm....) with a B.M. in vocal performance with a concentration in opera.
While working on my bachelor's degree, I discovered an interest in the science and teaching of singing, and took about half my coursework for a master's degree in vocal pedagogy. In the fall of 2004 I began teaching voice and piano at a nearby boarding school and took on some students at the local arts academy. This past year I also became adjunct faculty at Trinity University in DC. The teaching's great, all private instruction, but I've been teaching so much I haven't been able to finish my master's! Finally, over the next month, I should finish up, hopefully in time to get the May 2006 diploma that's already been printed (I walked in Commencement this past weekend).
What's next? First, I need to try to cut back on my teaching schedule to allow more time for practicing and performing. I'm also hoping to begin doctoral study either this fall at West Virginia University or in the fall of 2007 when James Madison University starts a new doctoral program. ("Dr. Sharp" - who would have thought?!) My husband and I (we married in 2003) also want to start a family, and just how all of this will fit together, we're not really sure, but we figure things will work out as they're meant to!
Thanks for putting together the website, Andy - it's been fun reading what people have been up to! I'm looking forward to a possible reunion next year and in the meantime, hope to hear from some folks:
Jennifer.d.sharp@jhu.edu.
Jen Sharp
it.)
The jump was sparked by multiple factors: increasing dissatisfaction with my career in that I didn't feel like I was making much of a difference in life, the death in 1998 of Sara Nance (DHS 1990, classmate of my brother's and family friend) from cystic fibrosis, training for and completing my first Washington DC AIDS Ride in 1999 after reconstructive hip surgery in 1995, and also in 1999 meeting my now-husband who, through his incredible support has allowed me to be who I really am.
Anyway, I left Andersen in spring of 2000 and later that year found myself applying to go back to school for music. We almost moved cross-country, but in the end stayed on the east coast. In the summer of 2001, we got engaged, bought a house in a little town (population 500!) near Winchester, Virginia (about 70 miles west of DC), and that fall I started a second bachelor's degree at Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester. (Attending intro-level classes with 17 and 18 year olds when I was over 30 was interesting, to say the least! And academic politics? Very different from the corporate world....) I graduated in May 2004 at the top of my class (much better grades than I'd gotten at Hopkins - hmmm....) with a B.M. in vocal performance with a concentration in opera.
While working on my bachelor's degree, I discovered an interest in the science and teaching of singing, and took about half my coursework for a master's degree in vocal pedagogy. In the fall of 2004 I began teaching voice and piano at a nearby boarding school and took on some students at the local arts academy. This past year I also became adjunct faculty at Trinity University in DC. The teaching's great, all private instruction, but I've been teaching so much I haven't been able to finish my master's! Finally, over the next month, I should finish up, hopefully in time to get the May 2006 diploma that's already been printed (I walked in Commencement this past weekend).
What's next? First, I need to try to cut back on my teaching schedule to allow more time for practicing and performing. I'm also hoping to begin doctoral study either this fall at West Virginia University or in the fall of 2007 when James Madison University starts a new doctoral program. ("Dr. Sharp" - who would have thought?!) My husband and I (we married in 2003) also want to start a family, and just how all of this will fit together, we're not really sure, but we figure things will work out as they're meant to!
Thanks for putting together the website, Andy - it's been fun reading what people have been up to! I'm looking forward to a possible reunion next year and in the meantime, hope to hear from some folks:
Jennifer.d.sharp@jhu.edu.
Jen Sharp
posted by Andy Potter @ 5:53 AM
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