Go back
ApplyRequest InfoVisitCalendar
Home&Բ;»&Բ;News&Բ;»&Բ;Meet Heather Gauthier: APSU, GOMB ‘best decision I’ve ever made’

Meet Heather Gauthier: APSU, GOMB ‘best decision I’ve ever made’

Heather Gauthier’s last marching band performance in high school happened at Austin Peay’s Mid-South Marching Invitational during her senior year. “At that point, I was uncertain of what I was going to do for college, so stepping off the field was super, super emotional for me,” she said recently. “I cried so much.” After high school, Gauthier attended Columbia State Community College where she studied accounting before switching to fine arts and music. She didn’t have marching band those two years, which she calls her gap years. But last fall, she transferred to Austin Peay State University with an associate degree in hand to pursue a degree in instrumental music education – and to don a marching band uniform again. She also returned to the field where she last marched. “Last fall was just like home,” Gauthier said. “I returned to the last field I stepped off of during high school, and now it’s my home field. “Austin Peay is the best decision I’ve ever made.” Gauthier is happy to tell anyone that, and she tweeted the same thought during the summer. “It just feels like family,” she said. “It feels like home. Everybody is so kind. The music department here is absolutely outstanding, and all of my friends, they’re just so talented. The professors are so good. “I haven’t met a single person or a single professor yet that I haven’t liked.” After college, Gauthier wants to teach in high school, especially marching band. She’d love to do that in Clarksville, but any place like Clarksville will make her happy, she said. “I really love the marching band aspect, that’s such a big part of my life,” Gauthier said. “For a lot of high schoolers, band is literally the only reason they’re still here. It saves lives being involved in something like band in a community, making music together, being a family. “I just want to share my love of music with people and hope that they share the same feeling and carry that on.”

(Posted Aug. 4, 2020)

Heather Gauthier’s last marching band performance in high school happened at Austin Peay’s Mid-South Marching Invitational during her senior year.

“At that point, I was uncertain of what I was going to do for college, so stepping off the field was super, super emotional for me,” she said recently. “I cried so much.”

After high school, Gauthier attended Columbia State Community College where she studied accounting before switching to fine arts and music. She didn’t have marching band those two years, which she calls her gap years. 

But last fall, she transferred to Austin Peay State University with an associate degree in hand to pursue a degree in instrumental music education – and to don a marching band uniform again, this time for the Governors Own Marching Band.

She also returned to the field where she last marched.

“Last fall was just like home,” Gauthier said. “I returned to the last field I stepped off of during high school, and now it’s my home field.

“Austin Peay is the best decision I’ve ever made.”

Gauthier is happy to tell anyone that, and she tweeted the same thought during the summer. 

“It just feels like family,” she said. “It feels like home. Everybody is so kind. The music department here is absolutely outstanding, and all of my friends, they’re just so talented. The professors are so good.

“I haven’t met a single person or a single professor yet that I haven’t liked.” 

After college, Gauthier wants to teach in high school, especially marching band. She’d love to do that in Clarksville, but any place like Clarksville will make her happy, she said. 

“I really love the marching band aspect, that’s such a big part of my life,” Gauthier said. “For a lot of high schoolers, band is literally the only reason they’re still here. It saves lives being involved in something like band in a community, making music together, being a family.

“I just want to share my love of music with people and hope that they share the same feeling and carry that on.”

News Feed

View All News
cob-integrated-learning
Integrated learning prepares APSU students as entry-level roles decrease

With fewer entry-level jobs available, Austin Peay State University's College of Business has responded by increasing experiential learning participation by 37%--connecting students with real organizations, AI-focused coursework, and global immersion experiences to build the skills employers value most.

Read More
ees-microscope
New scanning electron microscope brings meteorites, opportunity into focus at APSU

The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences has acquired a new scanning electron microscope, giving students publication-quality imaging and chemical analysis capabilities -- including the chance to study meteorites -- previously accessible only at major research institutions.

Read More
20251204-Peer-Leader-Reception-91
APSU's Peer Leader Program recognized with top international certification

Austin Peay State University's Peer Leader Program has earned renewal of its International Peer Educator Training Program Certification from the College Reading & Learning Association at the maximum level through 2030, reflecting the program's support for thousands of new students each year.

Read More