ELLISVILLE –Mississippi Humanities Council representative, Dr. Ronnie Nettles presented Jones College music instructor, Dr. Lindsey Keay as the JC 2018-19 Mississippi Humanities Teacher of the Year during a special presentation at the college. The former Canadian and current Hattiesburg resident shared some of her discoveries from her doctoral dissertation, “In the Zone: Flow of Music.” Keay explored our intrinsic motivation to function at our finest and how we may find ourselves, “in the zone.” Dr. Nettles explained the Humanities Council believes it is important to recognize the excellence of humanities teachers across the state while also encouraging their work as scholars.
“The purpose of this lecture and the other presentations taking place in thirty other colleges across the state is to bring the insights of humanities scholars to the larger public. This idea of enabling and encouraging humanities scholars to bring their work to the larger community has always been central to the mission of the Mississippi Humanities Council, where we believe that ‘the humanities are for everyone,’” said Nettles.
Jones College President, Dr. Jesse Smith and Nettles presented Dr. Keay with a plaque and a check after her flute performance and presentation. Keay was also honored by the Mississippi Humanities Council in April in Jackson for her achievements. Some of her achievements and responsibilities besides being the assistant band director and flute instructor at Jones include working with the Maroon Typhoon, JC Jazz, Concert Band, JC Pep Band, JC Flute Choir, JC Percussion Ensemble, teaching music appreciation, giving lessons at South Jones High School and she is a member of the USM Steel Drum Band. She also is a member of five symphonies in the region in Baton Rouge, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Meridian, Mobile, and Tupelo’s, North Mississippi Symphony. Additionally, she was invited to teach at a South American masterclass and gave a symphony performance of a rarely played piece of music on her piccolo for the first time in Cartagena, Colombia, South America as part of the music festival and clinic at the Unibac. Dr. Keay is completing her fifth year at Jones College with previous teaching experience at Bedichek Middle School in Austin, Texas, as a graduate assistant at USM, and as an instructor of music education at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana.