Alison Adkins-Kennedy is the Middle School Orchestra Director and Elementary Violin Teacher at The Cumberland Academy. Her teaching career includes Tyler Junior College, UT Tyler, Tyler ISD, and Mineola ISD. She has also served as a Music Minister or Worship Leader at Marvin Methodist Church and First Baptist Church, Frankston. She received her BA in Vocal Performance from Pepperdine (2007) and her MA in Vocal Performance from Rice University (2010). Alison has the distinction of having received the Young Audiences Rising Star Award in 2018. And she is still rising! Her Associate Principal, Mrs. Coleman, said, “From the moment she joined our campus, it was clear that music was not merely a subject she taught, but a passion she lives,” praising her “ability to nurture students of all backgrounds and skill levels.” Her close friend Kara Story said, “She is an absolute role model.”