Huskie Spotlight: Chey Fleming, ’24, Music Education

What did you want to be when you were growing up? I wanted to be everything when I was growing up: tattoo artist, chef, pharmacist, rock star, you name it. I knew I wanted to go to college, but I didn’t have a major in mind until the end of my junior year in high school. After getting the opportunity to lead rehearsals and mentor other violin students as a senior, I started to consider music education and got hooked almost immediately. Twelve-year-old me would have never imagined that I would still be playing violin, let alone teaching it!

What is your major (and/or minor) and why did you decide on this course of study? I am a music education major with an instrumental emphasis. I originally chose music education because I envisioned myself as a high school orchestra director, but I may have been won over by the elementary schoolers during my clinicals.

What is your favorite thing about studying and/or playing music at NIU? I love the options for playing music at NIU. I am really looking forward to eventually playing in a world music ensemble!

How have you connected with other students at NIU? With great difficulty! My schedule looks like a brick wall every semester, so it is rare that I have the time or energy for socializing. I have learned to take advantage of the short periods between classes. Ten minutes may not seem long, but its long enough to catch up with those friends that you would just never see otherwise.

Are you involved in any student organizations or extra-curricular activities? I am a music director for the NIU Penguin Players, a musical theater program for adults with disabilities. Even on my most exhausting days, I love going to work with the most talented actors on campus. It is the most fun, challenging, and fulfilling thing I do.

Who has been one of your favorite instructors/professors and why?  I took string techniques with Dr. D’Alexander as a freshman, and she has been hyping me up ever since. She is a great mentor and shoulder to cry on when things get rough. I am so grateful to have connected with her so early in my college career and I am looking forward to taking more courses with her.

Why did you choose NIU to study music? NIU really fell into my lap. I was visiting friends in Chicago in 2019 and on a whim searched ‘music schools near chicago’. I am originally from Georgia, so NIU’s out-of-state tuition was very attractive to me. I did more research and was extremely impressed by the Avalon Quartet, the Philharmonic and the music education department as a whole. I applied within a month.

Where is your favorite spot on campus or in the community? The East Lagoon! I grew up in an apartment near a little pond that geese would flock to every spring, so our un-official mascots and their stomping grounds are nostalgic for me.

What advice would you give to a student who is applying to colleges?  Even if you’re an undecided major, research the programs/clubs/extracurriculars that interest you. The school you have dreamed of going to since you were three might not actually cater to your wants or needs.

What do you do to relax or recharge? I lay on my living room floor while my cats try to crush me to death. It’s therapeutic.

Coming to college, what is something that you have had to learn to do differently? I have had to become a better advocate for myself! It has been a wildly uncomfortable process, but an important one.