Westminster College Hosts “Chasing Music Chasing Dreams” Vocational Discernment Panel, Featuring J.D. Eicher

Westminster College will host J.D. Eicher ’09 as keynote speaker at the upcoming “Chasing Music, Chasing Dreams” vocational discernment event at 11:40 a.m., October 7 in Wallace Memorial Chapel. The event is free and open to the public. 

During the event, Eicher, lead singer-songwriter and guitarist for J.D. Eicher & the Goodnights, will focus on his love for music, which led him to become a touring musician. His hope is to challenge students to hone in on a vision, follow it, do everything they can to reach their goal, and continue to improve their craft, whatever it may be.

“I was honored by the invitation to take part in this event, and I'm hoping I'll be able to encourage students considering career avenues in the arts,” said Eicher, who graduated with a bachelors of science degree in a combination program that integrated music and business administration.

“It was during a curriculum planning session with Rev. Mohr and Brad Weaver that we recognized the overlap between readings in our Inquiry Reader related to music and the need for all students to pursue their dreams and identify what they want to do with their life,” said Patrick Krantz, director of the Drinko Center for Experiential Learning. “This event seemed to align itself perfectly with Westminster’s recent $20,000 NetVUE Chaplaincy grant award. We thought it would be very appropriate to invite J.D. Eicher to share his story with students, as someone who has fine-tuned his goals and followed a dream in the music industry, which takes infinite perseverance.”

Students involved in “Chasing Music, Chasing Dreams” are:

• Kaitlyn Nicholson, a sophomore music and business administration major, is a daughter of James and Connie Nicholson and a graduate of Uniontown Senior High School.
• Natalie Paoletta, a sophomore business administration major, is a daughter of Paul and Tracy Paoletta and a graduate of Hickory High School.
• Daniel Swank, a junior broadcast and digital communications major, is a son of Gregory and Carol Swank and a graduate of The Kiski School.

This event is the result of work being done in the first year Inquiry program classes instructed by Krantz, Reverend Jim Mohr, chaplain, and Brad Weaver, broadcast communications lecturer.

For more information, contact Darlene McCoy at mccoyda@westminster.edu or (724) 946-7120.

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