Mike Sestak's dad bought him his first drum set in December 1978, and it became the foundation for a percussion teaching career at Jefferson City High School that's spanned three decades.
Sestak has been officially teaching at JCHS since 1993, but unofficially he's been teaching since he was a student there in the early 1980s, when he would compose and teach his peers after school.
June 30 is his last day, when he'll retire at age 51.
"This whole year's been a year of reflection," he said. "My goal was always age 50, and I'm 51, so I almost met that goal."
He guessed that over his whole career, he's taught a couple thousand students.
As early as middle school, Sestak was teaching himself how to play percussion. The lady living downstairs below his family's apartment didn't mind at all - "at least, that's what she said," Sestak noted.
The drum set is his favorite instrument. He explained most people don't realize percussion can encompass five to 10 instruments in itself.
In addition to playing, he would watch recordings of other percussionists' performances on rented VHS tapes, at a time when a lot of people didn't even own VCRs - they had to rent those, too.
"For the marching end of it," Sestak said, he would watch VHS recordings of PBS broadcasts of drum and bugle corp competition finals - "somebody always had a video of that."
On the drums side, Buddy Rich was the "top guy to watch at the time." Rich was a legendary jazz drummer who played with greats like Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Ventura, Louis Armstrong and Gene Krupa. He performed for U.S. presidents Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, as well as royalty from around the world including the monarchs of England, Jordan and Thailand.
As for his own prospects post-retirement, Sestak said, "I'll work the rest of my life, whether in music or something else." He hopes to teach summer school one more time before he retires.
His other options are open at the moment - maybe judging festivals, teaching lessons or playing. He already fills in for different groups for fun.
If a job takes him someplace warm, he said he'll go. He definitely wants to see more of Europe, too. He has family on his mother's side in Hungary. They've been here to visit him twice, and it's "probably my turn."
His advice for teachers is to give students "material that will challenge them, but not discourage."
As for aspiring percussionists, his advice is to commit to a routine.
"You've got to practice to be good, got to stick with it."