For 6 years now, Mr. Nick Kuka has been a major part of Drummond, Wisconsin’s music education.

He’s the preschool through 7th grade general music teacher as well as the 4th through 12th choir teacher. Mr. Kuka also created the school’s show choir from scratch and helps out with the school’s theatre productions.

For Mr. Kuka, Drummond feels like home. “I went to a small school just like this when I grew up in Montana,” he says, “and so teaching at a school like that’s very reminiscent of the school I went to makes this places feel like home.”

“I don’t think of this place as a job. This is my thing that I get to do with my extended family,” he says.

Because Mr. Kuka teaches almost every grade, he’s had the rare opportunity to be his students’ teacher throughout their time in school. Which he says makes saying goodbye at high school graduation even more difficult.

Mr. Kuka’s teaching is also inspiring the next generation of performers. “I am actually furthering my education in music and Mr. Kuka is a big reason why I’m doing that,” says senior, Dalaney Rusmussen.

The students at Drummond love to sing. In fact, 53 out of the 98 high school students are enrolled in his choir.

“They have to have that place where they can experience being human. Expressing emotion, just creating. And so that is what the arts provide. Whether it’s the visual or performing arts,” says Mr. Kuka.

“We have to have more than just numbers and letters. We have to have the human experience.”