W.A. Higgins Rock Ensemble 2012

Yerevan, Armenia 2013

About the Author

Hey y'all. I'm Thomas.

I'm a teacher and musician from Olympia, Washington.

After studying psychology and music at the University Of Washington in Seattle, I joined Teach For America and committed to teach music for two years in the Mississippi Delta. In Mississippi, I founded the W.A. Higgins Keyboard Studio and two after school programs- the W.A. Higgins Rock Ensemble and Rap Group. The Rock Ensemble performed across the state of Mississippi and even had a chance to open for and meet BB King. My students were a source of both challenge and inspiration for me. They constantly taught me lessons about patience, grit, love, and the joy of expressing yourself through music. 

At the end of my two years in the delta I spent a summer as a TFA staff member, coaching incoming teachers during an intensive summer training institute, then I packed up my car for one more cross country road trip back to the Pacific Northwest. In September 2013, I traveled to Yerevan, Armenia to become a part of Birthright Armenia and Armenian Volunteer Corps. While in Armenia, I joined Larisa Ryan to work on preliminary research and recruitment for Teach For Armenia and had the pleasure of leading the first ever songwriting project at Tumo Center For Creative Technologies.

After the success of the songwriting project in Armenia, I created, "Our Song: Workshop World Tour," a musical journey to nine different countries around the world; teaching, documenting and sharing how young people express themselves through song. Please have a look through this site for more information about the project.

I created Conceptual Life as a place to share my love for the arts, education, and whatever else grabs my attention in the world. Please don't hesitate to reach out on facebook, linkedin, and gmail. Let's do this!

-T

Why Conceptual Life?

The name of the site is inspired by this quote:

"Our conceptual life takes on a public form when the images distilled and formed as concepts are "embodied" in some form of representation. As intelligence is promoted in the representation process and as individuals become increasingly imaginative and technically competent at transforming concepts and their associated meanings into forms, the use and the growth of mind are revealed."

-Elliot Eisner