Charlie Winkley walked the hallways of Chisholm Trail High two years ago. 

 In that time, he has earned his spot as one of the most respected choir directors in the eyes of his students. 

“I did not like choir at all until freshman year,” he said.  “And then I tried it for the art credit, and I loved it.” 

Winkley went to Baylor University to major in music education and shadowed teachers at CTHS. When a job for Choir Director popped up for Chisholm, he earned the job. 

Winkley said he has not only been impacted by his past, but also by his choir students.  

Back in his freshman year, he met his choir directors Mrs. Edwards and Mrs. Blackstone.  

“They were awesome in a ton of different ways,” he said. “It was kind of like the way athletes say, ‘Oh, man, that coach pushed me so hard. And, you know, he or she helped me be something that I wasn’t sure I could be.’ That’s what those two directors were, they pushed us super hard.” 

             Today Winkley said his students show their appreciation in a special way. 

“If you walk in my office, the cabinet above the desk on the right, there’s a box with a bunch of llamas on it,” he said. “My fiancé got that for me. It has letters, and little notes—has a bunch of things that students have given me, even just the first year, there’s a ton of stuff, and it was really sweet.”  

As Winkley reminisces on the positive words from students, he changes mood instantly. 

“The whole box is just a reminder, if I ever have a hard day, or a day where I’m like, ‘What am I doing wrong?’ I can go in the box and be like, you’re doing a lot of good things.”  

Winkley’s choir directors and his students have motivated him to be something he thought he couldn’t be. If anybody asked him, when he was young, what he wanted to be when he grew up, he would never have said a High School Choir Director. Now, he’s standing in front of over 100 students, teaching them the language of music.  

“It kinda feels more like home, more than just a scary place.”