Patti Stanton
Patti Stanton grew up in Tennessee. As a high school senior, Patti felt called to be a band director. Following graduation, she began her coursework at Volunteer State Community College and transferred to WKU as a junior. While on the Hill, she earned both a Bachelor of Music Education and a Master of Science in education. She went on to receive her Rank I in music education from Eastern Kentucky University, which included coursework from Vandercook College of Music in Chicago, Illinois.
Patti began her teaching career in the Barren County School System, where she taught elementary and middle school band for three years. She then took a hiatus for several years to work in youth ministry with her church. After moving to Lexington, Kentucky, her first teaching assignments were beginning orchestra and band at several elementary schools in Fayette County. She was later able to move back to teaching her favorite level, middle school, and served as the Assistant Director of Orchestras and Bands at Winburn Middle School in Lexington, where she also directed the jazz band. In that position, her students benefited daily from her rehearsal and sectional skills. She retired after 19 years at Winburn Middle School.
Throughout her career, Patti enjoyed the fact that all students who play an instrument contribute to the success of the group and the beauty of the music they perform. She wholeheartedly believed in the gifts of each student and how those came together to create something profound. She would often tell her classes, “There is no bench on this team! Everyone is in the game, and every one of you is important!”
Even so, she recognized that not all of her students were provided the same opportunities. Although they could contribute to her ensembles, many of her students could not afford to take private lessons, which made them less likely to one day compete for a music scholarship on their instrument. This experience was something dear to her heart, as she too had fallen through a crack in the educational system. Recalling her own similar experience with not qualifying for grants and having to take out student loans to pay for her undergraduate degree, Patti sought to bridge the financial gap for future students.
To further that mission, she established the Patti Stanton Scholarship Fund. The fund assists deserving WKU students who are aspiring to be band or orchestra directors. Through this fund, Patti’s legacy lives on in perpetuity.