A dedicated choir teacher
On a farm in Iowa there was a hardworking boy named, Steven
Albaugh. He loved working on his family farm, but he was also interested in school. He had an amazing high school experience and discovered his passion in music. Later he attended Northwestern College located in Orange City, Iowa. He got his undergraduate degree there and received his graduate degree from Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. In 2000, he began teaching here at RHS and has been helping students thrive in choir since then. His hard work and dedication in choir has been recognized over the years; he received the finalist award for the Minnesota Teacher of the Year in 2013, conducted the ACDA-MN TTB State Honor Choir in 2016, and was selected as the MN Choral Director of the Year in 2019.
Outside of teaching, Mr. Albaugh loves to play sports. He enjoys
playing golf, tennis, and softball as well as watching college sports. He even plays for a softball league here in the Twin Cities. In his free time he will try to find time to sit down and read a good book. He also enjoys cooking and spending time with his friends and family.
Mr. Albaugh is a very caring and dedicated teacher when it comes to helping his students succeed in life. Everyday he works hard to make a positive impact in his students’ lives. It’s important to him to not only challenge his students, but to help them become better people. Some of his fondest memories are the choir concerts and OnState productions here at RHS. He loves to watch the pepfests, Homecoming activities, and the sports games too!
The pandemic is affecting many people’s jobs right now and the
workplace environment is changing. Things have changed a lot for Mr. Albaugh. His students have to wear masks to choir and stay 12 feet apart, all whilst singing. Choir concerts, as well as state, regional, and national honor choirs have been cancelled due to the pandemic. Mr. Albaugh greatly misses the choir concerts and seeing all his students everyday. Since students aren’t going into school now, they’re missing out on socializing together and forming a positive community. It’s hard now since students are online, but he is working as hard as he can to help them. During these hard times, it’s important to stay strong. Mr. Albaugh has a few words of advice for his students: “Be kind to those around you – you don’t know their journey and should never ever judge. Embrace the learning – don’t worry about the GPA or the stressors surrounding it. Just be a sponge and take in anything you can. Don’t be scared – get in the arena and enjoy life. Make each day count.” It’s important to take these words into consideration, especially during these times.