Compassion

Mr. Wigley was not only passionate about music, he was passionate about teaching. Through these passions, we as his students felt real compassion. I first met Mr. Wigley when auditioning for the fall musical, Grease, as a sophomore. He was very genuine when he complimented me on my singing, so genuine in fact, that it made me want to join choir. That's how I really got to know him. My junior year, I got into a select 17 person jazz choir which Mr. Wigley directed. We had a lot of gigs and performances outside of school, so we got to know each other very well. Mr. Wigley always showed love and compassion to us and made us feel like family. He and his wife would have all 17 of us over for dinner, and one of these nights happened to fall on my birthday. I felt so loved and felt so much compassion from Mr. Wigley, his wife and the rest of my group that it turned out to be one of my favorite birthdays ever. Throughout my time as his student, Mr. Wigley always showed compassion towards me and my fellow students, but the one time I remember it most clearly was at the end of my senior year. My fellow jazz choir members and I had arranged a piece to sing for Mr. Wigley at the end of Cabaret. Cabaret was a dinner show we put on as a group at the end of every year, and the last show was always bittersweet. Once we had surprised Mr. Wigley and finished our song for him, he took the microphone to start speaking. It took him a few minutes to even be able to talk through his tears. "I don't even need to tell you how wonderful your kids are," he said to the audience, "because they've just shown it right here." Hearing the pure emotion in his voice and how much we truly had moved him, showed me just how much compassion he felt towards us as students. Now & Then, which was the name of our jazz choir, turned out to be my favorite part of high school. All of my fondest memories come from being in that group. And I know that without Mr. Wigley's compassion it wouldn't have been the same. His compassion took us from being a choir to being a family. His compassion made me look forward to going to class everyday, and now whenever I think back to him and that group I can't help but smile. I hope someday I can be a teacher who gives that much love and compassion to their students.