“In the back of my head, I'm always analyzing my experiences. I've been part of St. Agnes Academy for more than 10 years, first as a student and now as a teacher, and it’s clear to me that I would be a different woman without that school,” said M.O.S.T. Alumna Gabby Willingham, who will soon begin her fourth year as the Upper School Vocal Music Teacher. “Every day I'm grateful for the people, the friends, and the coworkers that I’ve gotten to meet there.”
After elementary school at New Hope Christian Academy, Gabby’s mother secured a M.O.S.T. Scholarship and enrolled her daughter at St. Agnes for 7th Grade. It was at her beloved school that Gabby discovered the stage in 10th Grade and formed a life-long love of musical theater and performance. Today, she witnesses a similar passion in her students as she helps them discover the joy of performance.
“When I think about what the M.O.S.T. Scholarship gave me, I keep coming back to the idea of accessibility,” said Gabby. “As an educator working at my former high school, it's wonderful to see girls who came from New Hope because I was once in their shoes. I don’t know which of them are M.O.S.T. Scholars, but I know what it’s like to walk into a new environment praying to make the most of this opportunity.”
“Through M.O.S.T., I was given access to a rigorous education, a plethora of sports to try, and a stage to find my artistic voice to sing and speak on in front of audiences of all ages. I see myself in these girls who think they are shy or quiet and just need to find themselves here. The majority of people in my family went to college, but it has been beautiful to hear stories of my students and see them go off to college, when that opportunity felt out of reach at one time, and to know that opportunities from M.O.S.T. made some of it happen. And when they excel in school and graduate and go into their careers, they not only help their futures, but also their families.”
After St. Agnes, Gabby put her performing career on hold and spent a year at University of Tennessee, Chattanooga before transferring to the University of Memphis to complete her degree in Teaching All Learners, a dual licensure education degree. She continued to stay close to St. Agnes by working in the theatre department while at U of M, and after graduation, she found herself in a serendipitous spot; just as she earned her credentials to teach K-12, her former high school was in need of a new performing arts faculty member.
In addition to teaching Vocal Music classes and overseeing several performing choirs, Gabby also collaborates with colleague Ann Neal, who serves as the Chair of the Upper School Fine Arts Department and as its Theater Director. Under the pair’s leadership, St. Agnes theater students stage several elaborate main stage shows a year. Also, Gabby has assisted Ann Neal with the Spread the Love Tour, which twice a year loads the young troupe of actors onto a bus to perform at assisted living communities, shelters for the unhoused, and underserved public schools. Gabby’s proximity to the thrill of the stage relit the fire.
“I think I kind of got jealous of my kids being on the stage that I once was on. And I was like ‘I want to see if I can do it again!’” she said with a chuckle. “I figured out how to balance the work at school and the long rehearsal nights and in the last couple of years, I've done shows with Playhouse on the Square and Theatre Memphis.”
The future could go anywhere from here but for now she’s exactly where she wants to be.
“I can't put into words how thankful I am for the access I got through M.O.S.T.,” she said. “It's an opportunity that I never want to take for granted. If my career path takes me somewhere completely out of my wheelhouse, I know that I can thrive because I've seen myself do it before. I've been given the access to see that a lot of things are possible.”
When asked if she sees herself following a career path away from the school, she’s quick to label it her “least favorite question.”
“I'm just happy day by day. I know that St. Agnes has been that place that I have needed, and still need today.”