Troy alumna honored with Houston Symphony education award

Kim is a strings teacher and magnet coordinator for Carter Academy, which is part of the Aldine Independent School District (ISD) in Houston, Texas. Kim, who has spent her entire career teaching in the Aldine ISD, said the recognition means the world to her personally, but not for the reasons people might expect.

“It’s not about the title or the prestige,” she said. “What it truly means to me is validation — validation that showing up every single day for your students, in a community like Aldine ISD, matters. That the work we do in richly diverse communities is seen, and that it is valued.”

During her time at TROY, Kim discovered a foundation that shaped her into the educator she is today through the performances she participated in.

“Being part of elite ensembles like the Sound of the South Marching Band, Collegiate Singers, and Chamber Choir, as well as accompanying for musicals, gave me a well-rounded musical foundation that I bring into my teaching every day,” she said. “Those experiences taught me what it means to perform at a high level and to be part of something greater than yourself. As a teacher, I draw on that firsthand knowledge to push my students toward excellence because I know what they are truly capable of achieving.”

She was also shaped by mentorship she received from faculty in the John M. Long School of Music.

“The most defining influence on my teaching philosophy came from my professor, Dr. Diane Orlofsky,” she said. “She first guided me as my piano professor from my freshman year and continued to mentor me throughout my music education journey. What she gave me went far beyond technical instruction — she consistently encouraged me, believed in me, and pushed me never to settle for less than my best. She modeled what it looks like when a teacher genuinely invests in a student’s growth.”

Dr. Orlofsky said it was no surprise Kim received this award.

“Even as a young undergraduate music education student, she exuded pedagogical creativity, a collaborative spirit, a curiosity to learn new skills, and an exuberant love for learning and teaching,” Orlofsky said. “The quality of her work, her notable musicianship, and her excellent pedagogy revealed an individual who was “born to teach music” and to do so with joy and dedication. Her students are certainly the beneficiaries of her dedication to music education, and we are immensely proud of her accomplishments and can’t wait to see what the future brings!”

Dr. Hui-Ting Yang, director and professor of the School of Music, called Kim’s recognition a testament to TROY’s long-standing tradition of excellence in music education.

“Seeing our music education alumna continue this distinguished legacy by inspiring and shaping the next generation through her passion and dedication to music education means so much to us,” Yang said. “We are incredibly proud of Eun Sung!”

“Troy didn’t just train me as a musician,” Kim said. “It shaped me into an educator who expects more, gives more, and never stops believing in the potential of every student in the room.”

Each year, the Houston Symphony performs an annual concert to honor music educators while also presenting the award for Excellence in Music Education. In 2026, nearly 60,000 students attended symphony concerts.

“Our goal is not simply to introduce students to orchestral music, but to encourage them to continue their musical journeys in their school music programs,” said Allison Conlan, the Houston Symphony’s senior director of education and community engagement. “When students leave our concert hall inspired, it’s teachers like Eun Sung Kim who help that inspiration take root. Eun Sung is the kind of teacher who changes students’ lives through music.”

Conlan praised Kim as a dedicated educator, a valued partner of the symphony and an inspiring advocate for her students.

“We had the privilege of hearing from countless members of our community who shared stories of her impact—not only as a teacher, but as a mentor whose influence extends well beyond the classroom and the stage,” Conlan said. “I’m proud to call Eun Sung a partner in this work and am even prouder to be a fellow Troy alumnus of hers!”

Beginnings in Korea

While growing up in Korea, Kim’s dream was to become a pediatrician. She loved children and had a desire to dedicate her life to care for them. The thought of becoming a teacher did not cross her mind, despite coming from a family that was immersed in education.

“My mother was a teacher and my sister and my brother were teachers,” she said. “And my grandfather — he was actually a very successful businessman, but he loved his community so deeply that he used his success to build a school in Korea. He didn’t have to do that. He chose to. And I think that says everything about the values our family was built on — that education is not just a profession; it is a gift you give to your community. So perhaps it was never really a question of if I would end up in education — it was just a matter of when and how I would find my way there! I just needed to take the long way around through medical school dreams first.”

What ultimately brought Kim to music education was the realization that music gave her everything she had hoped medicine would.

“It gave me the ability to nurture children, to help them grow, to be present during some of the most formative moments of their young lives,” she said. “I just do it with a violin bow instead of a stethoscope. And honestly, I think my grandfather would smile knowing that his granddaughter — who once dreamed of being a pediatrician — ended up carrying on the spirit of what he believed in all along: that investing in children and in community is always worth it.”

About Kim’s teaching career in Aldine ISD

Kim described Aldine ISD as a beautifully diverse school district and named that diversity as its greatest strength.

“As someone who came to this country myself as a young international student from Korea, I see myself in so many of my students,” Kim said. “I understand firsthand what it feels like to navigate a new culture and still dare to dream big — and music was the universal language that helped me do that.”

Her connection to Aldine ISD began during her senior year at TROY while completing her student teaching. After graduating from TROY, she was offered a position as a strings teacher at Anderson Academy where she also taught general music and choir and built a piano program. In 2014 she joined Carter Academy, a performing and visual arts magnet campus.

Her teaching journey did not come without challenges. She experienced two accidents which took physical and emotional tolls on her and even had her questioning if she would be able to return to the classroom and continue doing what she loved the most.

During what she described as some of her darkest days, her colleagues and current principal stood by her.

“I honestly do not know where I would be without any of these people,” she said. “They are not just colleagues — they are family. And when I think about what this award truly means to me, their faces are among the very first that come to mind.”

Through all the challenges and seasons of uncertainty, Carter Academy achieved national certification by Magnet Schools of America and was recognized as a 2026 School of Excellence. When asked why she has stayed teaching in Aldine ISD for almost two decades, Kim pointed to the community.

“This community has given me just as much as I have given it,” she said. “These students — from so many different cultural backgrounds, languages, and life experiences — they remind me every single day of why music education matters. They remind me of myself as a young person from Korea finding my voice in a new world. Music was my bridge then, and I get to be that bridge for them now. And after everything I have been through, I understand more deeply than ever that this work is not just a career — it is a calling. That is not something you walk away from.”

A message to current music education students

Kim’s message to current music education students on the opportunities ahead is simple:

“A degree in music education from TROY is not a narrow path,” she said. “It is a wide-open door.”

She also reminded future music educators to not let anyone put a ceiling on what their degree can do.

“TROY gave me a foundation I have built my entire career on,” she said. “Whatever your dream looks like — whether you end up in a classroom, on a stage, in a studio, or somewhere no one has imagined yet — trust that TROY has prepared you for it.”

When looking back at her time at TROY, Kim reminisced on how transformative her experience was.

“I was learning, growing, performing, and exploring everything Troy had to offer, and before I knew it, that chapter had closed,” Kim said. “More than two decades have passed since I walked those halls as a student, and yet the memories I made there remain some of the most special of my life. The friendships, the performances, the mentors, the moments — they have never faded.”

“I hope to carry those memories with me always, and I genuinely look forward to the day when I get the chance to return to Troy and walk that campus again — not as a student this time, but as someone who knows just how much those years truly meant,” she continued. “Once a Trojan, always a Trojan.”