Mankato East's Andrea Brinkman-Waterbury selected NFHS Section 5 Music Educator of the Year

MANKATO, Minn. --- It was passing time on an unseasonably warm winter day last week when Mankato East High School students filed into Andrea Brinkman-Waterbury’s second hour Unified Music class. With the second semester still in its infancy, the excitement, the wonder and the anticipation of what was in store for the next 50 minutes of class time was evident.

“I can’t wait to get to this class,” senior Hailie Johnson said.

“Ms. Brinkman is so awesome,” junior Courtney Torgusen said. “It is so great when we are here.”

Through digital animation and the use of various instrument-type props like rhythm sticks, Mel-O-Dee balls and scarves, Brinkman-Waterbury, with energy, passion and boundless encouragement led the 20 students through musical lessons that induced body movements, singing and plenty of smiles. 

The enthusiasm and positive energy continued into the next hour when the 80-member concert choir assembled, many still needing the seating chart that was located on the director’s podium. After some scales to warm up, the student singers settled in for what turned into a breaking news announcement: Brinkman-Waterbury was the recipient of the prestigious 2024-2025 NFHS Outstanding Music Educator of the Year Award for Section 5, a group of states that include Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. 

Initial stunned responses were followed by thunderous applause and enthusiastic shouts as Brinkman-Waterbury accepted the award. She will be publicly recognized on Saturday, March 22 during halftime of the Class AA championship game of the Minnesota State High School League’s Boys Basketball State Tournament at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus. 

In December, she was selected the NFHS Outstanding Music Educator for Minnesota. As the Section 5 recipient, Brinkman-Waterbury is eligible to be recognized with the NFHS National Music Citation Award in 2026. 

“This is a really powerful feeling,” she shared with the League. “For anyone that goes into the education profession, they don’t do so to be recognized with awards. All you want to do is make a difference with students and show them how they can make the world a better place. To see these kids open their hearts and minds to a world of music and have that experience wash over them is incredible. Music allows us to share things that are magical.”

Brinkman-Waterbury, a 1998 graduate of Grand Forks (ND) Central High School, is in her 22^nd year as a music educator. Through music-centered education, Brinkman-Waterbury has guided students through growth, awareness and enriching opportunities. She has led League contest-winning choirs, guided her music groups on European tours and created an inclusive curriculum for teaching Unified Music. 

“We are all born with rhythm; in the womb, you hear your mother’s heartbeat,” Brinkman-Waterbury said. “Any person can learn music and that is such a beautiful experience. This (Unified Music) students can perform. They are outstanding. I have learned right alongside of them.”

With music from “Wicked” and various soundtracks from Disney movies, Brinkman-Waterbury guides the Unified Music students through body percussion that teaches different syncopated rhythms and notes by using stomps, claps, arm and leg swipes, knee pats and chest pats. 

The class comes to a crescendo with “We Will Rock You” on an air guitar followed soon after by “This is Me,” from the movie “The Greatest Showman,” a powerful anthem that embraces diversity, differences and what makes individuals unique.

“This class makes me smile,” said junior Travis Peterson, who circled the music rehearsal hall after volunteering to collect the rhythm sticks.

Brinkman-Waterbury’s long-range plan is to have the Unified Music class perform at concerts with the other choral groups. The current plan is for the Unified Music to have an “in-formance,” where families and invited guests can experience what the students learn in class.

“I know of other schools that do perform, and I think it’s so lovely,” Brinkman-Waterbury said. “To see these kids, all of my kids, being open to the world of music takes us to a wonderful place.”

After graduating from Minnesota-Duluth in 2001 with a degree in Vocal Music Education and a concentration in Piano, Brinkman-Waterbury began her teaching journey in the Mountain Lake school district before transitioning to Mankato East in 2017. Along the way, she has served as a guest conductor in the Ambassadors of Music program, a Bemidji State MusiCam clinician and an active member of the Minnesota Music Educators Association and the American Choral Directors Association. She is also a League adjudicator.

“My “why” as an educator has evolved,” Brinkman-Waterbury said. “I tell my students that teaching music isn’t a secret. It is about playing a role in making these students great humans in a fast-paced world. When they are with me, they are present and are experiencing something wonderful through music. That is a bond we will forever share.”