By Lauren Hett, senior

Kim Noller is not your average college student.

She’s 41 years old, married to her high school sweetheart, and mother to three sons. Plus, her song “Single Drop of Rain” landed on the Top 40 Inspirational Songs chart in 1996.

Noller sang her first solo in church at age 3. Christian singers Evie Tornquist and Sandi Patty added fuel to her passion for music and performing.

“I wanted to be just like them,” she said.

Noller began pursuit of a recording career in 1995 after graduating from Wichita State University with a vocal performance degree. “I was going to be a star,” she said.

Noller spent a year recording and released her first album, “When the Bough Breaks,” in 1996. She and her manager completed the project without the support of a record label.

CCM magazine gave the Indie album a glowing review, and Noller’s music career took off. In 1997, she and her family moved to Nashville. After touring for 18 months, Noller began writing songs for her second album.

Despite her success, the life of a recording artist was not all Noller anticipated.

“It was grueling,” she said. “My husband was Mr. Mom, and two of the people I toured with got divorced.”

Armed with that evidence, Noller began wondering if a singing career was the right choice for her family.

“I just lost the joy of singing,” she said. “I’m not a competitor, and you have to be a competitor to succeed.”

Though Noller wrote and recorded several songs for her second album, she never released it.

“It was just too private to release,” she said, shaking her head. “I understand now how songwriters want other people to perform their songs.”

Still in Nashville, Noller taught preschool a few days a week for extra money. She loved it.

“Children are the best people,” Noller said. “They’re the most open, the most giving and the easiest to be around.”

After eight years in Nashville, Noller and her husband Mike packed up their sons, Dillon, Keenan and Tristan, and returned to Wichita in 2005.

Noller’s husband took over as director of the Museum of World Treasures, which was founded by her father, retired physician Jon Kardatzke. Noller became chair of the fundraising committee for the museum and gave tours for the next four years.

She also began teaching Sunday school at West Evangelical Free Church in Wichita. Inspired by this experience, Noller decided to return to school to become a teacher.

Friends University music education adviser John Taylor was thrilled with his longtime friend’s plan.

“Going back to school with a family is an amazing feat,” he said.

Noller will student teach next semester, and Taylor is excited to see how her previous degree and life experience will affect her teaching style.

“She brings knowledge and skills to the classroom that most college students don’t have,” Taylor said.

Noller’s teaching philosophy is simple.

“Whatever you teach, the teaching should be about the children,” she said. “It should be about connecting with them, engaging their minds and building a relationship.”

In addition to being an elementary music education major, Noller is a member of the Singing Quakers.

“Kim has such a breadth and depth of experience,” Mark Bartel, director of choral music, said. “But she shares it in a way that’s not obvious. She’s very solid and dependable.”

Both Bartel and Taylor believe Noller will be an excellent teacher.

“You have to know how to teach and how to win the kids over, and Kim does that,” Taylor said. “She’s enthusiastic with them, and they love her. That’s just the kind of appeal she has.”