Adam Gust was raised in the cold of Minnesota, studied music in the heat of the University of North Texas, and has served a diverse full-time freelance music career of world touring and session work in just right Los Angeles since 2000. After a humbling decade of recovery from a career-threatening injury, Adam acquired a unique expertise, empathy, and voice toward evolving learning environments in drum education and in life.   Adam's journey of re-learning how to practice has helped him to stumble upon effective student based progressing learning strategies. Adam is excited to share his story of trauma from 'black to beyond' as he explains how he implements new academic ideas and technologies while re-assessing traditional forms of drum instruction.    Therapy and education are blood relatives, and the global pandemic is fertile ground to promote meaningful conversations about the application of mental health treatments to education and all disciplines of development.  Awareness of Trauma-Informed modalities will be a key component in our healing from this crisis, both for ourselves and for those we love.