Justin
Bromm knows that sometimes your best-laid plans do not work out. But,
for Bromm, the journey he took to be where he is right now has paid off
in the smiles and in the joy of hundreds of children at Scott County
School District 2.
“When I got the callback, I was very excited,
and even more so once I started working with the children,” said Bromm,
who is the elementary music aide for the four schools at SCSD2. “I fell
in love with the job the first week.”
Before he became the
elementary music aide and working alongside teacher Jena Hudson, Bromm
had different plans for his life. His plan was to work in nuclear
medicine technology.
“During middle school, I wanted to be a
teacher. Starting high school, I wanted something more high tech, and my
junior year, I found what I thought was my dream job, nuclear medicine
technology. I set out from high school to pursue that career,” Bromm
said. “I spent two years at [Indiana University Southeast], then
transferred to [Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis] and
was one of seven to get into the nuclear medicine program. I graduate
the program with my bachelor’s degree.”
After college, Bromm
applied for several jobs in Indiana and its surrounding states, but he
was continually told he was overqualified.
“The only time I heard
anything back was to say I was ‘overqualified’ and ‘they only wanted
someone with an associate [degree] because they could not pay a
bachelor’s [degree] wages.’ Yes. They literally said that to me,” Bromm
said.
Discouraged, Bromm did not know what to do. He had a
bachelor’s degree in his dream field and a past in music that his
parents helped forge throughout his childhood.
“My parents
inspired my music career since I was a baby,” Bromm said. “Ever since I
was old enough to sit on my own, I sat [with] my mom on her piano bench
and banged on the keys while she practiced. I started piano lessons at
the age of 8, and then, started with Mrs. [Annette] Egeberg around the
time of third grade. She trained me not only to play the piano but to
sing with it.”
From piano, Bromm transitioned into the middle
school band in the sixth grade. He began playing percussion instruments.
In the seventh grade, Bromm said he was asked to join and help the high
school marching band. He was in the band until he graduated high
school.
Thinking of his past, Bromm’s mother encouraged him to return to music and apply for a job opening at Scott 2.
“I
applied and went to the interview and made it clear that I would
continue to seek employment in the nuclear field,” Bromm said. “Shortly
after [starting at Scott 2], I remembered a recurring dream I had been
having, where I was back in high school, and even though I graduated
college, my high school counselor told me that there was a problem with
my credits, and I had to spend another two years in high school to make
my high school degree valid. I took this as a sign from God I was to
stay here for two years and let him bring a job to me.”
After his
recurring dream, Bromm stopped looking for jobs in nuclear medicine
technology. Technologists in the field use a scanner to take images of a
patient’s body, so physicians can make better a diagnosis and know how
to better care for patients. The decision to stop looking for another
job paid off.
“After the first year, I was granted full-time and
allowed to work at all four schools,” Bromm said. “I’m now on my third
year, and the dream has not seemed to come to anything, but that may be a
good thing. Although there are some days I feel like pulling my hair
out, I love all the children, and enjoy the job I get to do.”
Even
though Bromm had plans to work in nuclear medicine technology when he
was a student at Scottsburg High School, another dream — to be a teacher
— from his time at Scottsburg Middle School came true.
“I have
changed so much personally in the past three years, and I thank the kids
for that change. I remember hearing teachers saying as I grew up that
‘you learn as much from your students as they do from you,’ and I
believe that is true,” Bromm said.
While Bromm’s first choice in a
career did not go as exactly as he planned, Bromm’s decision to return
to music and teach a new generation of students what it means to love
music. At Scott 2, Bromm’s story is our story. Your story matters. You
matter.