K-State Students Give Back to Local Communities Through Instrument Repair Program
by Loren Miller, Marketing & Communications Manager
Inside the Tracz Family Band Hall at Kansas State University, a workshop filled with tools and possibilities is shaping the next generation of musicians and technicians. What began as a small independent study has quickly grown into a thriving Instrument Repair program that blends applied learning with meaningful community service.
The program’s rapid expansion was made possible through an Applied Learning Experiences (ALE) Incentive Grant awarded to Joshua Cook, instrument repair and extension instructor in the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, in 2025. Cook, who joined K-State full-time in August 2023, initially taught instrument repair to a handful of students while managing repairs for the university’s band program. As interest surged and resources remained limited, Cook partnered with Ben Worcester, an academic advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences, to explore ways to support more students.
“Ben found the opportunity, and we started brainstorming how to build a program that truly worked,” Cook said. “We combined our experience, wrote the curriculum, and figured out what it would take to launch it.”
Throughout the summer, Cook and Worcester developed a curriculum for a certificate program. They outlined how grant funding could be used to expand equipment and instructional capacity. By the end of the summer, their proposal won approval, and the instrument repair certificate program was officially launched.
“The grant transformed this from a one-person shop into a learning space for students,” Cook said. “I had what I needed to do the job, but now we have what we need to teach.”
With new tools and a structured curriculum in place for Fall 2025, enrollment quickly exceeded expectations. Fifteen students are currently participating, nearly triple the anticipated number, and a waitlist has already formed for the spring 2026 semester.
The program’s impact now extends well beyond campus. At Bandtober, a marching band festival at Riley County High School, Cook’s students provided free horn repairs for schools unable to afford them. In 2024, one student repaired three instruments. With ALE support, four students repaired 10 instruments in 2025.
Students also partnered with the Manhattan Optimist Club to repair 12 donated instruments for local youth and worked alongside Band of Angels, a charity that provides instruments to Kansas students. In 2024, two K-State students collaborated with the organization to repair 12 instruments. In 2025, six students repaired more than 20.
“We are using what we learn to serve the community, and that is something I am passionate about. We want to use our skills to do good,” Cook said.
One of the students contributing to that impact is junior Chase Wassom, a music performance major who joined the repair program in early 2023.
“We get to give back to the community and help lay a foundation that will benefit music education for years,” Wassom said.
For Wassom, the program has been transformative both academically and personally.
“I get to do something that truly interests me, with great tools and an instructor who shows me the right way to do things,” he said. “This program has made a huge difference for me. I am not sure I would still be a student without it.”
Wassom plans to pursue a career in instrument repair after graduation while continuing to perform. He has already attracted interest from companies impressed by the skills he has developed through the program.
Looking ahead, Cook hopes to secure formal approval for the certificate and continue expanding opportunities for students. He has already heard from at least one incoming student who chose K-State specifically because of the instrument repair program.
Since spring 2025, ALE has awarded more than $379,000 in grants to support faculty in preparing their courses for the ALE designation.
Click here for more information about the Applied Learning Experience Incentive Grants.
