Kassandra Cooper

Kassandra Cooper has dreamed of being a music teacher her entire life and, perhaps, even teaching alongside her parents in the community she loves.

This past week, the North Fort Myers High School student took a huge step toward that dream by becoming one of two students to receive a Golden Futures Scholarship, an initiative designed to identify, support, and hone the talents of Lee County high school students who wish to become teachers and stay in Lee County.

Cooper, a lifelong Cape Coral resident, said she wants to give back to the community that has given her so much.

“It’s a great opportunity for me because it gives me a chance to go to college and get the education I need to make my dreams come true in becoming a music educator,” Cooper said. “In return I can give back to the community I love and teach.”

Cooper went to Diplomat elementary and middle schools, where her parents work. Her mother is an English teacher while her father teaches math.

Her stepfather’s grandfather was a sociology professor, while her uncle is a professor in architecture, making it something of a family occupation.

But it was her orchestra teacher, Ms. Heinz, who has really done a yeoman’s job of getting Cooper up to speed on all the string instruments to help her be a better teacher.

“I would like to understand how to play all the instruments and demonstrate to my students the violin, viola, double bass, and I already know cello; I just didn’t know the others,” Cooper said. “She has also taught me about teaching that I didn’t already know.”

What Cooper has been getting is almost a 400-level kind of education. She has learned about music therapy to help students with PTSD and the ways some kids learn how to play music.

“Some kids are more spatial, some are more kinesthetic, and others are auditorial when it comes to learning about it,” Cooper said. “Some learn by listening, others go by the feeling of playing and how the hands are supposed to move.”

Cooper, who will attend FGCU in the fall, is in Math Club, National Honor Society and the secretary for both Tri-M Honor Society and the Orchestra Council. She is the first chair of the FGCU Philharmonia Orchestra and, in her spare time, gives private cello lessons.

The only word Cooper can use to describe the feeling when she learned she had earned the award is grateful.

“All the people who have helped me make this happen, especially the teachers who wrote my recommendation letters, and those at the foundation who put it all together,” Cooper said. “They have done so much to help their community.

The Foundation for Lee County Public Schools and the School District of Lee County have worked to recruit and retain teachers from the community. The goal is to keep interested students who want to seek a career as a teacher here in Lee County.

Golden Futures provides four years of tuition to Florida Gulf Coast University and Florida SouthWestern State College and is awarded annually to deserving high school seniors attending a Lee County District School.

Yaricela Vargas, a senior at South Fort Myers High School, was the other recipient. Each was surprised with the scholarship via Zoom on March 10.