Get to know Mrs. Leppard!

Elodie A., Editor, School Clubs|February 11, 2022

Tsion P.

Ms. Leppard during her 7th period music elective.

With every new year comes new, smart, amazing teachers. In the new school year of 2021-2022, comes our new music teacher, Heather Leppard.

After graduating from the University of Central Florida (UCF), in Orlando, Florida, Heather Leppard went searching in need of a job. She got two music degrees, in cello and voice, but then later realized that she needed 150 total hours to graduate with both degrees, and ended up needing to take nine extra hours in summer school. The woman who taught her class was the director of a non-profit music program called A Gift for Music. They were in search of teachers to teach strings, so she started teaching violin to third graders in title one schools (low income schools), and she subsequently fell in love with it.

Leppard was born in Pennsylvania, when her dad then went to graduate school in Texas and they lived in New York. After that, from eighth grade until about three years ago, she lived in Florida. She now lives in Torrance with her wife, along with her son, daughter, and nephew. Some of her hobbies outside of school include reading, gardening, sewing, making quilts, hiking, and camping.

Leppard was looking for music jobs in the nearby school district, and just so happened to come across the perfect opportunity. Since Sarah Truher had retired that year, there was an open spot for a music teacher at Girls Academic Leadership Academy. She immediately sent in her resume, and was interviewed the next week, where she was promptly informed that she got the job.

Why did she choose to teach music, though, out of all subjects? Leppard’s answer was, “I started playing the cello in the third grade and I sang in fourth grade. I knew from a very early age that I wanted to be a musician. Once I actually started teaching I knew that was what I was supposed to do. I thought, ‘This is my calling.’”

Leppard chose to teach at GALA because she “loved the approach to education here, I was really excited about the all-girls model.” Her first couple of weeks at GALA were “exhausting, wonderful, stressful, fun.” We are extremely excited to have Leppard with us to teach us some wonderful music this school year!