Hannah Gadd teaches music history and choir to 6th through 12th grade students from diverse backgrounds and various learning abilities at Lafayette Middle School and Lafayette High School. As a teacher in a rural public school district in Oxford, Mississippi, Gadd is passionate about providing students opportunities to make interdisciplinary connections, develop real-world skills, and change the world around them with music. Since beginning her teaching career in 2015, Gadd has overseen the growth of the choral program from 60 to 130 students. Gadd believes that all students should have access to a quality fine arts education. Classes like choir, band, visual art, and theatre empower students, providing them with outlets to lead and cultivate a climate for growth and acceptance amongst peers and the community. In 2018, Gadd partnered with elementary teachers of students with special needs in her district to create the More than Music program - a student-led music class for elementary students with special needs. Gadd believes by Motivating, Understanding, and Sculpting Independent Citizens through M.U.S.I.C., students develop important life skills, collaborate and learn cultural and social responsibilities to spread love, not hate. Before being named the 2019 Mississippi Teacher of the Year, Gadd presented research at the Mississippi American Choral Directors Association Summer Conference, served as a mentor for teachers in her school district, and currently serves on the Mississippi Teacher Council. Gadd received a bachelor of music in 2013 and a master of music in choral conducting in 2015, both from the University of Mississippi.