Delvin Kelly has a steady rhythm to his career plan just like his bass lines on tuba or his melodies on piano.
Kelly, 19, of Brandon, took to music in the eighth grade when he picked up his first instrument, the trombone. He started on tuba in high school and, in college, has grown his talents on piano while starting to appreciate what music can offer.
鈥淚鈥檝e learned that music is an outlet for people who don鈥檛 really know how to otherwise express themselves,鈥 Kelly said. 鈥淢usic teaches you a lot of critical thinking skills and helps you adapt to the environment you鈥檙e in.鈥
The Hinds Eagle Band鈥檚 first-chair tuba player is on track to graduate from Hinds in 2022 with an associate degree in music. He鈥檚 been named a 3E Award winner as a student (Emphasis on Excellence and Enrichment) with a 3.5 GPA or higher this past spring semester.
Being a band director is something that is in reach now for Kelly, thanks to his Hinds experience.
鈥淲hen I learned you can major in this and teach it the way my director in high school did, that鈥檚 what really made me want to go into music education,鈥 he said. 鈥淏and directors give students an outlet and help them understand they have a skill that can last the rest of their lives.
鈥淥ne thing we鈥檝e learned as music majors is there鈥檚 always more than one way to teach something,鈥 he said. 鈥淎nd there鈥檚 a reciprocating effect to it 鈥 if you teach one person music, then that person learns and can teach another.鈥
Some of his faculty mentors already see the kinds of qualities it takes to excel either as a performer or a teacher.
鈥淗e is thoughtful, extremely intelligent, modest, mild-mannered and, overall, a hard worker,鈥 said Andrew Lewis, Fine Arts Curriculum Coordinator and Kelly鈥檚 instructor in a music theory course. 鈥淚 had the pleasure of serving as his research mentor last semester, and it was a true honor.鈥