Christine Guter made a point to call the members of the All-State Jazz Choir “professionals” or “young professionals” this past weekend, and to hold them to a standard of professionalism that was likely well beyond what they were accustomed to.
It’s a reminder to me that we become professional when we choose to regard ourselves as professional, not before. It isn’t about achieving some skill – it’s in how we think of ourselves, how we approach the job, and how we treat ourselves and others and expect to be treated.
The students who sang in the All-State Jazz Choir this weekend left as professionals. Even if none of them seek careers as musicians, they will remember what it felt like to be a professional for one weekend, and they will hopefully apply those lessons to whatever they aspire to do.