When he was four, Sean Perry started exploring music for the first time. Now, Perry is a student teacher at WHHS and on his way to receiving a degree in music education and violin performance. 

Originally, Perry was in a choir before realizing that violin was what he really wanted to do. Perry almost quit multiple times throughout his childhood because he felt as though he wasn’t making any progress.

“I wound up sticking with it because the only time that my brain is quiet is when I’m playing music,” Perry said.  “I’m undiagnosed officially, but I’m autistic. And the only time that my brain can actually be quiet is when I have enough information to keep it quiet. And music is the only thing that does that all on its own.”

After graduating from high school, Perry was accepted into Miami University where he is currently a fifth year student. In his first semester at Miami, Perry was placed second chair in the orchestra.

“Sitting second chair was life-changing for me, I had always been in the back of the section,” Perry said. “We played ‘The Planets’ by Gustaf Holes. While we were performing this, I had this moment of clarity, right in the middle of Jupiter, which is one of the movements, and I went, ‘This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.’” 

Perry’s mom, who is a music teacher, pushed him in the direction of teaching and getting a music education certificate. Now, Perry plans on either playing in an orchestra or becoming a teacher.

“As time went on, I realized that I don’t remember seeing anybody like myself as a teacher ever. That includes not only my own schooling experience but also the places that I observed,” Perry said. “I never saw a single person that looked like me or had a backstory like me.”

Perry is a transgender man and thus strives to keep an open door for all students who are in need of support.

“I’ve never had an openly trans teacher, or even an openly queer teacher,” Perry said. “So I did not see myself represented in the classroom. As time went on, I started realizing, the students needed to see that. I needed to see that and I didn’t, so it’s pretty important for me to step up and be that teacher, because otherwise, who else is going to do it?”

Perry feels that his favorite classes to teach are the beginner classes, although he has also found that there are some major differences between the seventh graders and upperclassman.

“It’s so fun seeing how these students learn in different ways,” Perry said. “It’s been great seeing all these little light bulbs going off.”

For Perry, music was the lightbulb in his life.  

“Music saved my life,” Perry said. “I don’t often open up about my mental health issues, but I was on the edge multiple times. And one of the only things that saved me was remembering that if I didn’t stay, I did not know what would happen to my violin. And if I didn’t stay, I wouldn’t be able to keep playing my instrument with other people. It’s one of the only things in life that truly brings me joy.”