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Music education graduate paired her interests on path to degree

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2 years ago

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Music education graduate paired her interests on path to degree


Ananya Amarnath is ending her undergraduate career at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln on a high note.

She will be among the thousands of Huskers participating in commencement on May 18 and receive a degree in music education from the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. This crescendo has been building as Amarnath’s path to a degree came with numerous academic challenges — which she overcame by remembering that she had the opportunity to pursue two of her passions.

“Everybody has an origin story, why you love music, why you love teaching,” she said. “Taking a second to reconnect with that and not lose that idea is really important.”

Amarnath’s introduction to music education was at age 5 when she started learning Indian classical music. As a small child, she also took lessons in Indian classical dance. Her younger sister also participated in the lessons, and Amarnath realized then that she loved helping her sister learn.

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“This is something that has always been present in my life, so why don’t I just combine the two things I love doing and keep rolling with that,” she said.

She started in group singing lessons, but in middle school, Amarnath started playing the flute, which continued through her years at Elkhorn South High School. Watching her own teachers helped inspire Amarnath to pursue this career.

“I was seeing these great music educators around me, really leaning into my love for music and seeing that there’s more to it than just singing in a choir,” she said.

Amarnath just completed her student teaching at Papillion La Vista South High School, where she had the opportunity to learn from two instructors. She said they have a wealth of experience so she was grateful for the opportunity to pick both of their brains and grow from observing them, as well as apply lessons from them and her classes to real instruction.

“The two of them have two very different approaches to teaching, so I’ve been trying to figure out, seeing both, what I want my approach to be,” Amarnath said. “I just love watching them teach and they have such good relationships with their students.”

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Outside the classroom, her music education major required Amarnath to learn the basics of playing several instruments, and her favorite additions were the saxophone and the oboe. She also participated in multiple university choirs, including University Chorale, University Singers, Chamber Singers and i2 Choir.

“I really appreciate having those as a requirement, to take a break from the coursework aspect and just make music,” she said.

Although she enjoyed those opportunities, Amarnath has also had to push through failing and retaking classes, blocking off enough time to practice and other typical challenges students face. Leaning on peers and upperclassmen for advice and support was vital to making it through her time at Nebraska U, she said, as was reminding herself of her goals and reasons for continuing to work toward her degree.

“I think a lot of people get lost,” Amarnath said. “They think, ‘There’s a lot of coursework, this isn’t making sense, I’m not succeeding,’ because they’re not seeing their progress and they’re not thinking about the ‘why.’”

Now that she’s fought through the challenges and is preparing to receive her diploma, Amarnath wants students to remember they will face adversity, but it doesn’t mean they won’t succeed in the future. If she could speak to her past self as she was entering college, Amarnath would tell herself it’s OK to struggle.

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“You are going to fall on your face, because everyone does,” Amarnath said. “At this point I’m more sure of who I am and I don’t think that would have happened if I had not done all the things I have done at UNL.”



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Nebraska

What Iowa coach Ben McCollum said after defeating Nebraska on Thursday

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9 hours ago

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March 27, 2026

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What Iowa coach Ben McCollum said after defeating Nebraska on Thursday


Iowa coach Ben McCollum met with the media following his team’s 77-71 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Sweet 16. The Cornhuskers led by three at the half but Iowa was able to outscore Nebraska 34-25 in the second half.

Pryce Sandfort led all scorers with 25 points while shooting 8 of 13 from the field and 6 of 10 from the 3-point line. Bennett Stirtz led the Hawkeyes with 20 points and played for all 40 minutes.

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Iowa shot 52% (27-52) from the floor, 43% (13-30) from beyond the arc and 83% (10-12) from the free throw line. Nebraska struggled shooting 41% (24-58) from the field, 34% (13-38) from the 3-point line and 91% (10-11) from the charity stripe.

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The Hawkeyes’ head coach acknowledged that his team had a poor start but a great finish and said that his team will need to play better to advance beyond the Elite Eight.

Yeah, I think to start we weren’t fantastic to start. They had an elite game plan to start. They played with elite pace. They adjusted their defense quite a bit. I think a lot of people will talk about the rivalry. I was around it when I was in Iowa, you know, and grew up in Iowa and understand the rivalry and whatnot. It’s nice to have — I guess if you would a call it rival that runs such a class program.

I think Coach Hoiberg, they have got great kids. They completely turned everything around from the previous season, and they have absolutely nothing to hang their heads about or anything. I have the utmost respect for them, all their players, and especially Coach Hoiberg. Heck of a season. I know it’s no consolation, but we still want to beat ’em every time and they want to beat us every time.

But from and internal perspective, there’s not a lot of bad blood there. It’s actually a lot of respect. I was really pleased with our second-half performance. I thought we actually decided we were going to try — not try. They had a lot to do with it, but kind of. Yeah, they’re smiling over there because they saw me break my marker.

And I thought our kids did a good job of executing offensively in both halves. We spent a lot of time trying to make sure that we could score, and you saw the result of that. We didn’t defend. But we were able to score, so we were able to stay in the game long enough and then get enough stops and had some big possessions down the stretch. Really good program win for everybody, coaches, managers, everybody included.

Iowa advances to the Elite Eight with the victory. Nebraska’s season ends with a record of 28-7.

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This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: What Iowa coach Ben McCollum said after defeating Nebraska on Thursday





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Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen appoints Antonio Gomez to Racing and Gaming Commission

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21 hours ago

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March 26, 2026

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Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen appoints Antonio Gomez to Racing and Gaming Commission


LINCOLN, Neb — Gov. Jim Pillen has appointed Antonio Gomez of Jackson to the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission, adding a longtime Siouxland business leader and public servant to the panel.

Commission members serve four-year terms and are subject to approval by the Nebraska Legislature.

Gomez launched Gomez Pallets in South Sioux City in 1983. He has since retired from daily operations, but last year the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce recognized him with the W. Edwards Deming Business Leadership and Entrepreneurial Excellence Award.

Gomez previously served on the Nebraska Commission on Latino Americans from 1981 to 2002. He also served as a Dakota County commissioner for 12 years and was on the Foundation Board for Northeast Community College.

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Gomez’s appointment is effective April 1.



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CBS Sports predicts Nebraska-Iowa basketball in the Sweet 16

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1 day ago

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March 26, 2026

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CBS Sports predicts Nebraska-Iowa basketball in the Sweet 16


The Nebraska Cornhuskers will face the Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. This is the Huskers’ first Sweet 16 in program history, while Iowa is playing in its first Sweet 16 since 1999.

Nebraska defeated Vanderbilt 74-72 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Iowa advanced after beating the defending national champion, the Florida Gators, 73-72.

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CBS Sports reporter Isaac Trotter broke down Thursday’s Sweet 16 matchup. Trotter started by looking at the two previous matchups in this series.

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These teams have played twice. Iowa won at home in a 57-52 rockfight. Nebraska returned the favor by winning at home, 84-75 in overtime, in another to-the-death brawl.

It’s no secret that Nebraska’s defense caused significant problems for the Iowa offense in the second game, and if the Hawkeyes are going to win the rubber match, Trotter believes that turnovers will be the key.

There are no secrets in the rubber match. Nebraska’s no-middle defense has given Iowa real problems both times. The Hawkeyes turned it over 20% of the time in Game 1 and 26% of the time in Game 2. That can’t happen in the third encounter.

CBS Sports believes that Iowa has the best player on the floor in Bennett Stirtz, but Trotter also believes that Nebraska’s defense is just too much in the end for Iowa.

Iowa has the best player on the floor, Bennett Stirtz, and can hurt Nebraska on the glass, but the Huskers get the nod because of this pick-and-roll defense. You have to be able to guard ball screens effectively to shut down Iowa, and Nebraska has been an elite pick-and-roll defense, rating in the 99th percentile nationally, per Synergy.

In the end, Trotter selected Nebraska as his pick. Should the Huskers advance to the Elite Eight, Nebraska would play the winner of the Illinois-Houston game. Nebraska-Iowa play in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 26 at 6:30 p.m. CT on TBS.

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This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: CBS Sports predicts Nebraska-Iowa basketball in the Sweet 16





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