Dr. Joshua Palkki

What fears or anxieties did you have about going to college?

As a first generation college student, I didn't know what to expect and how to juggle all that I had to do in school on top of navigating living on my own for the first time. I also had struggles with how open to be about my queer identity (I went to undergrad. in a very conservative area).

  • PhD, Michigan State University
  • M.Mus., Northern Arizona University
  • B.S., Ball State University

  1. Ask for help. Even when it's uncomfortable. Even when you think you might not need it. There are SO many resources on campus to help you be successful. A professor can't know that you need help unless you tell them!
  2. Be patient with yourself. It's going to be hard. Sometimes it's going to feel impossible. When it does, see #1.
  3. "Just keep swimming."

Reading, playing with my cats Brady and Kyle, travel, musical theatre, social justice/queer advocacy, movies, podcasts, Netflix, spending time with friends and family.

  1. My iPhone (with a solar charger!)
  2. A kindle full of all of my favorite books
  3. Soap 

I grew up in a small, blue collar iron mining community in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I am one of the first men in my family not to work in mining. During the summer of 2004, I was a summer worker in the mine where I drove a 240-ton production dump truck. It was quite the experience! After undergrad., I was a middle and high school choir teacher in San José Unified Schools and after my M.Music degree program, I taught middle school choir and handbells at a small private school in Bethesda, MD (right outside Washington, DC). In addition to my work at CSULB, I work with South Bay Children’s Choir in Torrance, CA and serve as Director of Choral Music at Los Altos United Methodist Church in Long Beach.

My research focuses mostly on social justice issues in music education, specifically LGBTQ and gender issues in music education and culturally responsive teaching. My co-authored book about honoring trans and gender expansive youth in music education will be published by Oxford University Press. At CSULB, I lead the University Choir, teaches courses in music education (including choral repertoire and pedagogy), interface with the College of Education, and mentor music graduate students.

I love being a GenExcel mentor and wholeheartedly believe in this program!