Naomi Yoshikawa
What did your time in WHEU mean to you?
I can say so much about the connections and memories I’ve made because of my time in WHEU, but I thought I’d explore the parts that have ingrained themselves in me. People I’ve met in WHEU can come and go; my memory is fleeting; but if there’s one thing my time in WHEU symbolizes, it is a deepened love and appreciation for music.
WHEU surrounds you with so many talented people and breeds this erudite atmosphere of, for lack of better words, nerding out about music. WHEU gave me the vocabulary to explain and comprehend what I love about music. No one in my family understands the language of music, and WHEU has allowed me to explain to them the intricacies, like what instrument is playing what part.
In my spare time, I’m a creative writer, and that musical language has translated into my prose; I describe footsteps as beats to a tempo, a swinging ponytail as one that metronomes back and forth; rocks that staccato when skipped over lakes, dissonance between the pitches of arguing voices: all these mundanities made lively and interesting through a simple understanding of music.
What have you contributed to WHEU and how have those contributions supported/improved the overall experience for all of its members?
Sophomore year, I was the upperclassman horn. When I saw incoming freshman horns, I assumed the role of “unofficial horn section leader”, quickly establishing myself as a reliable leader. My senior leaders would let me test the freshman horns despite not being in leadership, since I was the de facto horn upperclassman. I became the leader I never had, and the 4 of us have been going strong since.
As a junior quartermaster, I worked with the VP of Instruments at the time to implement quartermaster “leadership”. I was designated props leader and efficiently led my team to assemble backdrops for every comp. The hierarchy led to an organized quartermaster system that got us through comps every weekend.
As a junior leader, a fellow leader’s mental health declined and I stepped up to cover their position. I ensured both the leader and those affected remained stable—the best I could—and kept everything behind the scenes, managing to lead the section normally despite the hardships occurring underneath.
This year, I’ve worked harder to build rapport with members as a leader, leading a stable section while also maintaining stable relationships.
My contribution to WHEU can be summed up in one word: stability.
What have you learned from being a member of WHEU and how will you apply those lessons to your future endeavors?
My first year of leadership, a fellow leader underwent a mental health crisis that affected fellow members of WHEU, specifically an incoming freshman girl. I didn’t know what else to do other than to listen and be there for them. In private, I held my own opinions of the situation, though feared to step out of that objective leadership facade; I didn’t want to take sides in case it ostracized anyone. By chance, my best friend happened to let slip my true thoughts to that girl, who approached me with relief and gratitude that she wasn’t alone.
Seeing her reaction, I realized that the facade I wanted to uphold and maintain came at the expense of another person’s feelings. Had she never known what I believed, she may have been pushed away from WHEU. It occurred to me that stability as a leader doesn’t just come from stoic objectivity: it also comes from emotional connection on a subjective human level.
This has changed my leadership style going forward from distant and efficient to firm yet empathetic, because the fear of what could’ve happened lingers, and I refuse to let that become reality while I have the position to stop it.
