Meet Amy Rolniak of Westlake High School Choir in Thousand Oaks

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Rolniak.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Being a choir teacher and carrying on the legacy of my own high school choir director has always been a dream of mine. My choir teacher changed my life for the better and I only hope that I can impact my own students half as much. I believe that every child is worthy of love, success, and acceptance and those concepts drive my teaching. Teaching choir is the best venue to give those students all of those things and an outlet to bring goodness to our community. It is also important to hold them to very high standards, but give them the tools and the encouragement to achieve those standards. I believe the Westlake High School Choir Department with the tireless help from our Parent Booster Organization is well on its way to doing this. We have the motto I Am Because We Are and this promotes our ideas that we are only as strong as the community we are a part of. When I succeed, it is only because you succeed.

Has it been a smooth road?
In my tenure at Westlake High School we have endured a power outage the night of my first concert, the tragic Borderline Shooting which affected many of my students and the horrible wildfires that devastated our community and left a majority of my students displaced. Yet we prevailed and had our concerts and were able to provide the community with a much-needed reminder that connection and love is so important and with a community of people behind you, anything is possible. We also have the constant struggle of funding a public school choral program. We work tirelessly to ensure our students have all they need to thrive.

Please tell us about Westlake High School Choir.
We specialize in teaching students through music. We are known for providing each student no matter what access to choral music. Acceptance and love is what we are known for. I am most proud that we are able to provide each student with the same opportunities. I am proud that this organization accepts and nurtures future citizens of the world and gives them skills that will transform their lives and make them productive members of our society. I think what sets us apart from others is our deep commitment to the choral art and our inclusive nature.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
As I am finishing my 3rd year, I would love to see our program grow.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.westlakechoir.org
• Email: [email protected]
• Facebook: Westlake High School Choir

Image Credit:
Richard Rolniak, Ken Daurio, Roger Weeks

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