Mr. Maldonaldo, the other band director, pushes his students to be their best. However, he still has a bit of a friendly personality. When he must be professional, he is, and thats exactly what I feel I need because it keeps me in check at times when I may not be truly be paying attention. He likes to get straight to the point, and I like playing music, so it helps a lot because I like being able to get through everything and get to the point to work on the music we need to. Somehow, I actually enjoy doing fundamentals when before, I didn’t. Like Mr. Wheeler, he’s also opened up doors for me that I might have not even have had if it weren’t for him. When I first moved here, it was still during football season. The band members suggested I come to their next football game. I said that because I didn’t have a uniform and didn’t even really know anything and it was that late into the season, I should just forget it. The band members pushed me to ask, and so I did. Mr. Maldonaldo agreed and let me go get a uniform so I would be able to relive what I haven’t done in years, play at a football game. When I thanked him, he told me “Don’t thank me, thank god”, which makes me feel like he doesn’t give himself enough credit for being as great as he is as a band director. I know Mr. Maldonaldo cares because of the actions he takes. He pushes his students to be their best because he sees potential in anyone, even if it’s the smallest thing. To make me a better student, he’s made sure to keep me in line a bountiful amount of times while also supporting me on my dreams to exceed as a music major later on in life. Diving deeper into my outside of class life, like Mr. Wheeler, Mr. Maldonaldo also goes out of his way to get his students something to eat when he can afford it, and that has helped me on the days I’m most hungry. I remember when I didn’t get to eat one day because someone who wasn’t in the initial count ate, he still went out of his way to get me something to eat so I wouldn’t be hungry for the late night. Over the midwinter break, he also took me and 2 of my friends to Sam Houston State University to tour it. I initially hadn’t even been planning on going to college, but that experience brought my entire spark back, and now I’m getting ready to go to college once I graduate. After so many of the great experiences he’s given me, he likes to say “Don’t thank me yet” and I always wonder when to thank him, but I still give him my thanks anyway as he deserves it more than ever. I couldn’t be more thankful to have two outstanding band directors like Mr. Maldonaldo and Mr. Wheeler.