This is Mr. Wyant!
He has been teaching in Clearfield since February 2015 in the Elementary school. He transferred to the High School in June 2023. He is quite involved with the Music department at this school; he teaches Intro to Music and American Popular Music, and is the director of every band at Clearfield Junior-Senior High School, which includes the junior high concert band, junior high jazz band, junior high marching band, senior high concert band, the “Thunderin’ Herd” Jazz Band, and the Bison Marching Band.
He is very happy to be teaching at Clearfield. He says there is a “tradition of excellence, especially of the music department” and that he loves “being a part of and carrying on that tradition.” Mr. Wyant has always loved music and he knew he wanted to pursue it in Elementary school, but he was not super serious about that dream until middle school. He graduated from Ford City Junior-Senior High School in Ford City, PA. After High School he graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania for Music Education, and he also studied percussion and piano performance. He then earned his Master of Music degree from Messiah University in Wind Conducting. He is currently a Doctoral candidate in Music Education at Boston University, working towards a Doctor of Musical Arts degree.
He speaks very highly of music, and he said many of his best friendships were developed in band and around music. He doesn’t make it his expectation that his students follow in his footsteps, he just wants to teach valuable life lessons while making music with his students: “I get to be a part of that. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
Outside of school he enjoys traveling, even on some weekends he goes to a Broadway show in New York City. Just last year he had traveled to Jamaica, Canada, Ireland, and Northern Ireland. This summer he has plans to travel to Scotland, England, and France. He is also a big Pokémon fan, ever since Red and Blue came out on the original GameBoy. He also said he loves checking out the latest gadgets. He and his wife have a cat they love to spoil, and they are both looking forward to having a new son in April!
Some advice he has for students is to work on their time management skills. Because there are many opportunities at this school, so much so that it can be overwhelming, try to use spare moments in your day and put them to good use. Don’t forget to relax too: “Down time is just as important as productivity, so make sure you schedule it!”
