Leader
Since his time as a Boy Scout Senior Patrol Leader and Eagle Scout, Justin Lewis has had an interest in organizing, managing and coordinating. This year, Justin accepted a position to serve as the Managing Director of The Pennsylvania Suzuki Institute, which is a summer music festival of more than 200 young musicians and their families from throughout the northeast. There is also a faculty and staff of more than 20 renown pedagogues and performers from throughout North America and Europe. The Festival has been held in Central Pennsylvania for the past twenty-three years. It is one of 46 Institutes in North America who hold the title of official Institutes of The Suzuki Association of the Americas.
Justin is the youngest individual to ever have been offered this position and is using his degree in public relations to build community support and awareness of the festival. In addition, to his responsibilities of recruiting exeptional faculty, scheduling, planning, marketing and advertising, he is personally the designer of the Institute's first website PennsylvaniaSuzuki.org .
In addition to his responsibilities with the Festival, Justin serves as second counselor in the Branch Presidency in the State College University Branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was called to this volunteer position by the area leaders of the church and enjoys the opportunity of serving the needs of the congregation of more than 100 people.
In the service of his church, Justin also moved to the Southwestern United States from 2001- 2003 to serve as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Justin did not see his cello for two years, but rather took a nine week intensive course in Spanish at the Church's Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. Justin worked with Spanish-speaking people inborder towns in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. During that time, Justin served as a trainer, a district leader and a zone leader within the missionary organization of the Church. Overall, the missionary experience helped deepen his faith, while teaching him to work hard and serve others.