“I really do hope the music thing takes off.” Mykele Hill, a 23-year old Claremont High alumna and substitute admitted as she sat by her desk in the classroom, conversing with the teens while Taylor Swift camouflaged with the regular high school conversations. The common euphoric celebration of having a substitute grows stronger when the sub of the day walks in sporting worn Doc Martens and a sweater straight out Rory Gilmore’s closet— which for, Ms. Hill, as she is known by students, is the case.
As portrayed by classic movies like “Mean Girls”, high schoolers do enjoy a good gossip. This past school year, the news of Ms. Hill’s life beyond the playlists she plays in the classrooms, has been shared by a few students. It was discovered that she spends her spare time outside of subbing trying to build up a music career: evenings writing and composing songs, weekends recording in her parents garage, and any spare time playing gigs. This year, Hill has released two original songs and one cover which have become the first pillars of the castle that she dreams to transform her music career into.
Hill discovered her connection to the storytelling power of music at a young age, but only began to dwell further with this affinity until she was older.
“Putting a melody to what I was feeling became a really cathartic way to cope, heal, and self-identify [during a rough patch in my life],” Hill said. “It wasn’t until I graduated college that I seriously considered pursuing music as a career; I felt that I had afforded myself the opportunity to do so by earning a degree and opening up my job prospects for the meantime.”
Hill continues to put herself out there, occasionally gifting her students with sparkles of unreleased music amidst her regular playlists filled with songs from her musical inspirations like The Beatles and Sheryl Crow to more modern sensations such as Kacey Musgraves and boygenius.
Hill leaves this last verse for any current and future listeners out there:
“I love music because it fosters connection and community […] I love the community at CHS so much and consider myself very lucky to be a part of it. It’s super weird to think that I might have fans around here, but thank you for listening and supporting me! If you haven’t listened and want to check my music out, that would be awesome! I’m just getting started, and if you like it, there’s more where that came from!”
You can find Mykele Hill’s music on all streaming platforms.