Former Chickasaw Arts Academy participant Katie Barrick, who has been playing the violin since age three, says that music is both a means of creative expression and a way to explore parts of herself that she wouldn't be able to do otherwise. Through music, she has met people like Jerod Tate, a classical composer and instructor at the Arts Academy. Katie says that being part of the Chickasaw Nation, a Nation that highly values and encourages the arts, has been a blessing. Katie also discusses her original composition, entitled "Caffeine Smile," and her current job as an Education Coordinator for the Oklahoma City Philharmonic.