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March 29th, 2024

miss kansas 2021 taylor clarkMiss Kansas 2021 Taylor Clark rocks a drum solo at a past event. Clark, a music education major at Kansas State University, is using her platform to emphasize music as a tool for students in school and communities. Courtesy photoELLY GRIMM • Leader & Times

 

It is often said music can be a common thread that ties people together and during her time as Miss Kansas, Taylor Clark has been working to spread exactly that message. 

During her tenure, Clark has been emphasizing an importance on music and music education in schools and communities. 

“My social impact initiative is called 'Sound For Common Ground – Music Connects' and a question I always ask with this is 'What if we treated the voices of others like we do with music?'” Clark said. “I bet everyone knows all the words to their favorite song(s), but if someone came to you with an issue or problem and addressed it with you, would you remember what they told you after, say, a week or a month, etc., and did you do anything to help with that problem? My initiative strives to help with that dilemma by using music as an icebreaker to help individuals have some of those difficult conversations and use the power of music and the power of conversation and connection with music to enact change.”

Clark added music had a big impact on her when she was growing up. 

“For me, it helped me come out of my comfort zone – I was a very shy child and didn't really speak up for myself a lot. When I was 8 years old, my brother told my grandma I wanted a drum set, which I had never mentioned before, and a drum set showed up at my door, I put it together, and my feet couldn't quite touch the pedals,” Clark recalled with a chuckle. “I originally thought I'd try it out for just a short time, but then I stared band in middle school and ultimately decided to stick with it and ultimately fell in love with it all. I originally thought I wanted to be an engineer, but I realized that wasn't my passion, and my years in band helped me realize it's okay to speak out since I was playing this loud instrument, so I should use my voice to be an advocate for others. When a student comes into a music classroom, I want them to feel comfortable and confident and feel like they can be fully open, especially during the middle school and high school years since that's a rather transformative time.”

That experience, Clark said, led her to her current path and the inspiration behind her initiative. 

“I'm actually a music education major at Kansas State University, and I've always had a love of all things with music and performance. I'm also a percussionist, so I knew a big part of what I wanted to do was promote music and music education,” Clark said. “But I didn't want it to stop at the classroom door, I wanted it to extend beyond school into the community and beyond. I believe starting with this initiative was a great start, but I would love to see it grow. One of my favorite things with this initiative is my Bucket Beats, which is when I take a 5-gallon buckets in to schools or community events and use those to help get those conversations started, because I believe music is just that powerful and without it, we're not able to fully have those difficult conversations that need to be had. A big part of it is about making music to help us get more comfortable with one another, and another part is visiting schools and promoting music education as a whole.”

Helping with the social and education aspects of music through her platform, Clark said, has been a great experience. 

“One thing I think is really exciting is I've been working with a drumstick company who has provided me with several sets of drumsticks I get to hand out at school events to the students who participate in the Bucket Beats, and that's really special to me,” Clark said. “Having the kiddos come up at the beginning of the assembly is always great – some of them are definitely more shy than others, some are more will run up onstage and be part of all the fun, it's always a fun mix. Getting to know them and talk with them is also really great, and then at the end, they get surprised with their own set of drumsticks, and it's always a great feeling seeing them run back to their seat and showing off their new drumsticks to their friends and teachers, they're so excited. I really think activities like that can spark a lifelong love of music, even if it doesn't ultimately become their career in life. I've recently partnered with Hit Like A Girl, which is an international percussion organization that works to help women break more into the percussion world, which is still very much male-dominated. Hit Like A Girl is in 41 countries and I'm currently one of the U.S. ambassadors, so I get to help advocate for women percussionists, and I do that every day I'm on the road, I have a traveling drum kit in my car. Also recently, I attended PASIC (Percussion Art Society International Convention), which takes place every year, and this year, I got to speak on behalf of Hit Like A Girl, and I was one of the few women at this conference. Being one of the few female representatives there was very impactful for me, and I had several younger female percussionists come up to me afterward and tell me they wanted to become an advocate themselves.”

With all of that, Clark said she hopes her platform will grow in many directions after her tenure as Miss Kansas. 

“My career will ultimately be in classroom music education, so I wanted to start something now to get that spark going and start gaining community support, because that is so invaluable,” Clark said. “I wanted to do something I knew would be exciting and engaging that would also hook the community, and I really felt this platform was the way to do it, by putting drumsticks in students' hands and letting them play. I knew this was something I could do even as a teacher and use with community members and other faculty who might not be as familiar with music education so they could see the impact. I was readmitted to K-State not too long ago, so I'm really glad to get back to school, and I've got one year left before I graduate. The most exciting thing I'm looking forward to is having my own marching band – my own school band was kind of small and we didn't really do any marching, so coming to K-State and being part of a 450-piece marching band that's requiring rehearsals and travel to ball games and everything else, that's just great. You can't beat the feeling of running onto the field with thousands of fans screaming about the show you just put on.”

Clark added she has had a great experience as Miss Kansas 2021 and hopes to end her tenure on a high note.

“I've only got five or six months left, and one of my main goals in becoming Miss Kansas was giving back to the organization I've been part of for several years now. My goal was to bring on more schools and more scholarships, which we've done a great job with. I'd also like to bring on more colleges like KU and WSU and Pitt State, schools like that, and I'm excited to be announcing some other partnerships soon. We're nearing the end of the local competition season in Kansas, so if anyone is interested in running for any of the Miss USA Organization titles on the Kansas side, those chances are available and online can be found online. I've also got some other great future opportunities I'm really excited about that I'll be announcing in the future, and anyone who wants to can follow me on Instagram and Facebook.”