UNCBAA is spotlighting our members! We ask their favorite band memories, their role in the band and what they are doing today. Today, we hear from Susie Keeter Read from the Class of 1985.
Q: What years were you in band?
I was in the band from the Fall of 1981 to the Spring of 1985, when I graduated.
Q: What instrument did you play?
In the marching and concert bands, I played clarinet. I played oboe as a Music Education major in Orchestra and Wind Ensemble.
Q: What are you up to now?
I currently work part-time for the regional REALTORS Association as a bookkeeper and I still own one business, an autobody collision center. (Sold the other one March 2025.)
Q: How did UNC Bands prepare you for what you are currently doing?
Being in UNC Bands helped me in my life with career and leadership roles. In the band, I was squad leader, section leader, Vice-President, and President. My first job was as a high school and middle school band director. I taught band, orchestra, and even some choral classes off and on for years. Later, I got my Master’s Degree in Instructional technology and worked as a technology facilitator, as I came back to education after years away. In between, I raised my two boys, and assisted in running three self-owned businesses, a tennis club and two autobody shops. One never knows where their path may lead!
Q: What is your favorite UNC Bands memory?
It is hard to pick just one! For me, the most important role of UNC Bands was providing me a pathway to instant belonging and purpose on campus.
UNC had a good football team, so going to the bowl games was a ton of fun. Of course, being in the basketball pep band was great fun too! I am proud of several things I helped implement. I organized a fundraiser, sponsored by the band, and the proceeds went to the Ronald McDonald House. I also applied for and was awarded money for the Pep Band to purchase a new, and badly needed drum set. When I was Vice-President of the UNC Bands, I invited Dean Smith to a semi-formal banquet. He wrote back with his regrets and a handwritten note to me. I have that in a frame!
Q: What is a fun fact about yourself?
I had to go to court for a speeding ticket. I realized that I knew the judge from many years earlier in band when he called me by my maiden name instead of my married name!
