Katherine Kemler knew from the second she laid her eyes on a flute that it was the instrument for her. She knew she would dedicate her life to this instrument. 
And she did. 
Kemler took lessons growing up and pursued a musical degree at the Oberlin College and Conservatory in Ohio. She began teaching, but left that behind to pursue her dream to tour the globe playing the flute. 
Kemler toured Europe and Asia doing what she loves, but something didn’t feel right. Kemler had tongue cancer.
“Of course, not only was it cancer, but it was squamous cell cancer,” Kemler said. “Which was really the bad kind, kind of an invasive kind.”
She endured two surgeries to remove the growth on her tongue and restore her health. But even with the trauma to her mouth and distractions on her mind, Kemler never set down the instrument she loved.
Kemler is currently a professor of flute at LSU.