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In 1974, Garden City’s Cathedral School of St. Mary hired to create and teach its fifth- through 12th-grade music curriculum. She accepted the position as anÌýÌýsophomore working toward her teaching degree, and she excelled.

Fast forward 39 years and you’ll find Ms. Braren teaching on Marco Island, Florida, heading up the music program at theÌý. She sees more than 600 students a week for a 50-minute class inÌý, which has the largest school district east of the Mississippi River and boasts 3,500 students. That’s a lot of names to remember.