November is National Scholarship Month! Throughout the month, we’re highlighting local students and the opportunities made possible through scholarship support.

From band student to band director, Ariah Bremby is finding her rhythm in a new role. After earning her Bachelor of Music Education degree from Central Michigan University in May, Ariah began her career as Director of Bands for Whitehall District Schools, where she teaches students in grades 6–12. Her role includes directing the high school concert, jazz, pep, and marching bands, as well as teaching three levels of band at the middle school.

Watching her older sister in band sparked her interest in music, but Ariah credits her former band teachers Jeff Ayres and Susan Gould as her biggest inspirations. “They were able to provide a thoughtful music education that was rooted in hard work and passion. I was left with a positive experience that went beyond music, and I knew I wanted to provide the same for others,” she shared. Now, one of her favorite parts of teaching is watching students work through a challenge and discover that their effort can lead to success. “Watching the switch flip in a student’s brain from ‘This is too hard’ to ‘This will be worth the work’ is very special.”

As a Greenville High School graduate, Ariah was awarded seven scholarships through GACF, including the Keith & Jean Hudson Music Scholarship, Jennifer Marie Horst Memorial Scholarship, Ed and Helen O’Boyle Memorial Scholarship, Victoria Walter Patterson Memorial Scholarship, John & Wanda Meyer Scholarship, Natalie Young Music Scholarship, and the HCAT Directors Scholarship. Her advice to students is simple: apply. “You may not receive every single one, but you won’t receive any if you apply for nothing.”

The hard work that helped Ariah earn her scholarships has carried into her career, where she is already seeing the results. In her first semester, the Whitehall Viking Marching Band received a Division I (Superior) rating at the MSBOA District 7 Marching Band Festival. “My saxophone professor always said, ‘The best ability is reliability.’ Show up for yourself and for those around you, and it will take you a long way.” 

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