07/01/2026
July 2026: Amiah Heath
Amiah Heath, a junior pursuing a bachelor’s degree in music education at Idaho State University, has been named a Career Path Intern of the Month.
For the past two semesters, Heath has held a Career Path Internship with ISU’s Music Department, serving as the assistant director of choirs at the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center. In this role, she helps lead rehearsals, direct concerts, choose repertoire, teach music fundamentals, and sing alongside the women in the choir.
According to Jeff Francom, director of choral activities and assistant professor in the ISU Department of Music, Heath has played a major role in the growth of the PWCC choir program.
“Amiah has served as the assistant director of choirs at the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center since January 2025,” said Francom. “She was instrumental in starting our first choir, and due to her influence, the program became so popular that we had to create a second choir.”
Francom also noted that Heath serves as a positive role model for the women at PWCC, who are inspired by her leadership. She used her own funds to design and print choir T-shirts, helped recruit ISU singers for the program’s first concert at PWCC, and hopes to start a third choir at the facility.
For Heath, the internship has offered meaningful hands-on experience in teaching, building a choir program, and creating a positive musical environment.
“There are too many highlights to choose from, but nothing beats the joy and excitement in the room when they’re making music,” said Heath. “It’s something you can’t quite describe when a room full of diverse individuals are being vulnerable and doing what they love.”
Heath’s work has also extended beyond PWCC. She has used her experience researching Idaho’s prison system in presentations at Idaho and regional conferences of the American Choral Directors Association in Boise and Tacoma. She was also featured on the podcast Voices of Transformation: ISU Choirs Build Community Inside and Out with Dean Kandi Turley-Ames.
Originally from Boise, Heath hopes to graduate in Fall 2028. After graduation, she hopes to spend at least a year abroad gaining cultural experience before entering the classroom, either in elementary music or high school choir.
“This experience has meant the world to me,” said Heath. “To be able to bring music into their space and learn and grow alongside them while they’re discovering passion for music is just another beautiful reassurance that this is exactly the way I’d like to spend my career.”
