UM Alumnus: Middle-school teacher finds the right chord in Perdido

By LEIGH T. MOORE

Press-Register Correspondent

Courtesy of the Press-Register 2009 ©. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.

Music has always been one of Will Sellers' interests, and as a young man, he planned to be a professional guitar player.

"I graduated from Satsuma High School, and I played guitar all through high school and was in a band," he said. "We played Southern rock, Lynard Skynard-type stuff. I played lead."

While pursuing music, he also became interested in studio work and went into the Army Reserves to pay for college.

"I used the GI Bill to get my music degree at the University of Mobile, which was Mobile College then," he said. "They offered me a job teaching guitar part time, and I was their events coordinator full time."

As events coordinator, Sellers was in charge of preparing for all performances at the university, from set-up to insurance.

"I handled the technical support and brochure information," he said. "If there was a recital or a concert, I made sure the details were covered."

He worked at the two jobs for seven years and completed his master's degree in English education before accepting a position teaching seventh and eighth grades at Perdido School.

"I decided I wanted to teach after I started working with the middle-school kids at my church," Sellers said. "I was teaching a Sunday school class and we have a Wednesday night deal for middle-school ages only."

Sellers still works with the youth at First Baptist Church in Satsuma, and for the last 10 years has taught English and guitar enrichment in Baldwin County. This year he was named Perdido's Teacher of the Year for his dedication to the job.

"I wasn't expecting to get the award because I don't like recognition," he said. "For them to pick me was quite an honor because I feel like I work with the best folks in the county."

And teaching has been a happy career choice for the musician.

"The best thing about Perdido is the kids," he said. "I teach reading and writing, and I don't want to work anywhere else. I'm proud to be here, and we're like one big ol' family."

Sellers also coaches the seventh-grade boys basketball team and he hopes to start a guitar ensemble at the school.

"I did learn to play classical guitar when I was working on my undergraduate degree, but I wouldn't necessarily do all classical music with an ensemble," he said. "I can make my own arrangement of (popular) songs. I enjoy teaching the kids, and I have a couple of students who have really taken off with the guitar."

When he's not at school, he continues playing music around Mobile with friends and he's involved in the worship music at his church in Satsuma.

"I live next door to my dad, so he and I see each other a lot," he said. "My mom (Delores) died three years ago, and it was tough. But the Lord saw us through it. I'm really blessed to have my job at Perdido, and I really feel like this is what I was supposed to do."