Hayley Gotzsche decided at a very young age that being a music teacher would be a great job.
“I’ve always loved music,” she said. “Music has always been a source of joy and an expression of confidence. It was just natural to go into it. I love to get to bring those experiences to other kids as well.”
Annually, the Golden Apple Foundation narrows down a list of 20 nominees to five winners of their prestigious Golden Apple Award which recognizes teaching excellence for K-12 teachers in Boone and Winnebago Counties.
Gotzsche, a 2015 graduate of the NIU School of Music with a degree in music education, has been a finalist once before, but this time it was different.
Last week, the door to her classroom at Willowbrook Middle School in South Beloit opened, and her husband Rasmus walked in carrying their daughter, Dahlia. But they weren’t alone. They were flanked by representatives from Golden Apple to make a big, surprise announcement.
Hayley Gotzsche with her award. Her husband Rasmus and daughter Dahlia are to her left.
This time, Hayley was one of the Golden Apple Award recipients.
“I had a great music teacher growing up,” Gotzsche said. “I always loved to sing, but she really had a way to make me feel very good about myself, and about my ability to sing.”
That teacher was Linda Julian, who had won a Golden Apple herself in 2017 in that very same classroom. When Julian retired seven years ago, Gotzsche returned to her old middle school, this time as the new music teacher.
And now, as a member of Golden Apple’s Teacher Academy, Julian was back to help present Gotzsche with her award.
Linda Julian (left) and Hayley Gotzsche
As if the moment wasn’t full-circle enough, Julian was the last alum of the NIU School of Music to win a Golden Apple before Gotzsche.
Inspired by Julian throughout elementary and middle school, and then at Hononegah High School by music teacher Amy Jensen, Gotzsche was determined to make her dream of teaching music a reality.
She earned her associate’s degree at Rock Valley College and then transferred to NIU to study music education. At NIU, she continued to be active as a singer, performing in choirs and in opera theatre. She also helped produce Penguin Project performances.
At NIU, she found another mentor.
“Dr. Mary Lynn Doherty was so impactful,” Gotzsche said. “I look up to her so intensely. She is very inspirational to me.”
Hayley’s Golden Apple Award was not a surprise to Doherty, assistant director of the School of Music, professor and coordinator of music education.
“Hayley was always a standout,” she said. “When you see students coming up, you can picture what kind of teacher they are likely to become. I could tell that Hayley was going to be one of those teachers where the teaching of the music was going to be really strong and important, but I saw that she would be one who would be there for students, be a role model, and show them how much a teacher can impact their life. I saw that in Hayley. She is a person that people respond to and want to be around and music is a perfect vehicle for her to be able to connect with people.”
Gotzsche is certainly keeping busy at Willowbrook. She teaches music, directs the fifth grade choir, heads up the sixth through eighth grade theater program, directs the spring musicals, organizes an annual haunted house fundraiser to help support the Willowbrook “Pet Patrol” project, is in charge of the schools’ Wolverine Carolers who perform at the holidays, and just this week she started Broadway Club at the school.
“I feel like I’m one of the lucky ones every day,” she said. “I love to teach. It feels very affirming from the community that I’m doing a good job. It means a lot to me.”
