Who inspires you?

Everyone has at least one person that inspires them for one reason or another.

When I was in high school I had the pleasure of having a few great teachers. Two of them are one of the main reasons I started to love theater. Not only did these teachers truly care about their students getting good grades, but they also wanted students to learn a strong work ethic that would last throughout their life.

These leaders would spend countless hours of their personal time to make sure students had what they needed to perform. Things like taking home music so they could record it with the keyboard or staying at the school every night and weekend hand painting a set for the next show.

These teachers would not let you just get by with being just average but they would push you to better yourself at all times. They allowed mistakes but all they asked was that you would say “I’m sorry for that, and I will try harder.” One of these teachers is Mr. Greg Easton who taught at Donald E. Gavit MS/HS and is now the administrator of the Hammond Performing Arts Academy at Morton HS.

Why did you become a teacher?

“I became a teacher to make a living during my early years as a performer. Teaching was only supposed to sustain me until I became a star. I was singing a lot in Chicago and I started substitute teaching to make ends meet. I was shocked at how the quality of the arts had faltered in my home town, so I decided to spend a year or two teaching full-time to make a difference. It’s now 28 years later, and I’m still here.”

Why do we need Fine Arts in school?

“The Performing arts experience that I had in high school was life changing, and unfortunately for Hammond, the heritage was gone. The Hammond Academy for the Performing Arts is a shared vision championed by Dr. Watkins that brings exceptional opportunities in the arts to all students in Hammond. HAPA is a rigorous program dedicated to academic and artistic excellence that is a school within a school on the campus of Morton High School. It is a magnet school that draws from all Hammond schools. My life is an example of why the arts are so important in school.”

Do you have a person that inspires you?