ROCKINGHAM — Taking a gap year between her undergraduate and graduate degrees, a former Richmond Senior High School volleyball player is helping inspire local students to find their passion for music.
Madelyn Chappell, a four-year volleyball player at Salem College, graduated in December and quickly found herself in her own classroom. Since the start of the new year, she’s been the music and chorus teacher at East Rockingham Elementary School.
A 2016 graduate from Richmond, Chappell finished her volleyball career as a right side hitter with the Spirits this past fall and is third in the program’s record book for the most kills. Over her four years at Salem, Chappell recorded 841 kills in 120 collegiate matches.
“My first two years I had a phenomenal coaching staff and then I had to acclimate myself to new coaches during my junior and senior years,” Chappell explained. “I finished my career strong, but there were times I wanted to throw in the towel.
“But the girl who played in high school would have regretted it, so I’m glad I stuck it out,” she added.
Chappell graduated Salem after completing the School of Music, focusing on piano. Her long term goal is to obtain a piano performance degree and become a college professor, but she’s currently enjoying spending time with her East Rockingham students.
“As soon as I graduated from college, I got a job offer at East Rockingham, although I went to school for music, not necessarily education,” Chappell explained. “At the time, I never pictured myself teaching at elementary level, but now I really enjoy it and really love the kids.”
Serving as the school’s music teacher, Chappell teaches students of all grade levels. While the centerpiece of her classroom is a piano, Chappell also uses drums, xylophones, maracas and other small instruments to guide her instruction.
She’s also responsible for the school’s chorus, and on top of the excitement in her day-to-day adventures with her students, Chappell is enjoying being able to give back to her community.
“It’s really cool to be giving back to my hometown,” Chappell said. “Growing up, my favorite class was always music and I had a lot of great teachers who inspired me.
“Being in the classroom and teaching kids reminds me of how much I loved it then and how much I still love it now. Seeing their faces light up is really cool.”
While she misses staying busy on the volleyball court, Chappell said there are some parallels between being a collegiate athlete and a first-year teacher. She explained that playing volleyball on top of studying and preparing for recitals taught her time management skills, which she uses every day to balance her teaching responsibilities.
Other skills she’s carrying over from the court are self discipline and motivation, both of which “translate into teaching and getting ready for graduate school.”
Recently, she was also asked by Richmond’s head coach Ashleigh Larsen to serve as the varsity assistant next season.
Chappell’s first semester as a music teacher took an unprecedented turn in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, but she said she’s handling the unexpected detour pretty well.
“It’s been kind of hard but I’m adjusting quickly,” Chappell said. “Education is new to me and I’m learning about all the new programs to teach online. But I also like trying to come up with different ways to keep in contact with my students and create fun new lessons.”
Chappell’s plans are to continue to apply for graduate programs and start in the fall of 2021. She has a few favorites picked out but hasn’t made a final decision yet.
In the meantime, she hopes to keep working with and inspiring her students.
“All of the kids are the best part, especially the ones who love to come to music class,” she closed. “My chorus kids are so involved and love to sing, and they remind me of myself when I was in school.”
