In January, Baird was shocked and delighted to receive an acceptance letter and a partial scholarship from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. She was admitted to the college\u2019s music education program, where she will pursue a master\u2019s degree with a concentration on music education for those on the autism spectrum. <\/span><\/p>\n The program, administered by Berklee\u2019s Institute for Accessible Arts Education, is the only one of its kind in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt is highly competitive due to the school\u2019s national reputation and how exclusive the area of study is,\u201d says Jonathan Middleton, a professor of music theory and composition at EWU who has worked closely with Baird. \u201cAdmission to the program is a life-changing experience for her, and for the future students she will serve.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Baird, a talented pianist who has long struggled with reading and mathematics, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at age 24. Today she is passionate about teaching music to others whose musical ambitions are challenged by physical or cognitive obstacles \u2014 something she has been doing for the past eight years.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are so many with disabilities, and other marginalized groups of people, who are not getting their talents shared or having their needs met,\u201d Baird says. \u201cThey are very intelligent, but they need to learn their way, not the [traditional] system\u2019s way.\u201d<\/p>\n Baird herself has had to surmount many such obstacles to reach success. <\/span><\/p>\n As a young person on the spectrum, progressing through school was an uphill climb. She graduated from high school, but her application for admission to Eastern was rejected due to a low GPA. \u201cThe idea of college was not in the cards for me,\u201d Baird says she told herself at the time. <\/span><\/p>\n But after four years of service in the U.S. Navy \u2014 and accruing the educational benefits that her service provided \u2014 Baird chose to give college, and Eastern, another try. She has since flourished. <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 <\/span>Baird is currently on the university\u2019s Dean\u2019s List with a 3.7 GPA, and will graduate in June with a bachelor\u2019s degree in music composition. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI know there are people at Berklee who will put me in the position to get me where I want to go, and to do what I want to do,\u201d says Baird.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cFor me, it\u2019s really monumental. I\u2019m fighting for the right of my students to be heard.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For Hilary Baird, graduate school will be just the latest in a long line of triumphs. From a rejection on her first application to Eastern, to admission as a graduate student at one of the nation\u2019s top music programs, EWU\u2019s Hilary Baird has lived a true Cinderella story. In January, Baird was shocked and…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":484,"featured_media":3098,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-2823","stories","type-stories","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","stories_categories-students","stories_tags-alumni","stories_tags-spring-summer-2024"],"acf":{"subheading":"","featured_image_format":"cover","display_featured_image":false,"display_byline":false,"display_date_published":false,"featured_video":"","Links":false,"Resources":false,"page_hide_sidebar":false,"page_enable_page_nav":false,"page_override_title":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/2823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/stories"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/484"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/2823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2830,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/2823\/revisions\/2830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2024\/06\/Baird-Music-Student.jpg\")