Mrs.

Leslie Dianne Caldwell Setzer was born on June 21, 1958, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, the last of four
children. Her mother, Betty Caldwell, was an accountant and her father, Joe Caldwell, worked as a
teacher and a football coach. As a child, her father called her Punkin. Mrs. Setzer had several pet dogs.
When she was four years old, she knew she was destined to become a musician. She loved music. She
grew up in south Georgia and moved to western North Carolina when she was thirteen. She attended
school at Tuscola High School in Waynesville, NC. There she was active in gymnastics, cheerleading,
and especially the school choir. She graduated in 1976. Shortly after graduation, Mrs. Setzer enrolled
at Western Carolina University (W.C.U.) where she majored in music education and met her husband,
Neil. Before graduation from college in 1981, Mrs. Setzer married Neil on January 10th, 1980.
Throughout that time, Mrs. Setzer held many jobs including a waitress and cook. At one time, she was
a performer at Ghost Town and Frontier Land.
In late 1981, her first child, Jake was born. The next year, she began her teaching career at
Bradwell Institute. In 1984, she had her second child, Lindsey, and her third child, Leah, was born in
1987.
Mrs. Setzer returned to her own education and received her graduate degree from W.C.U. in
1989.
In 1994, Mrs. Setzer began teaching at Clay County Schools. Her husband was offered a position
as the football coach, and the school had an opening for a choral teacher.
Seeing how her father had such a positive effect on many of his students and players inspired
Mrs. Setzer to become a teacher. “That made me want to contribute- to make a difference,” she says.
Her favorite thing about teaching is all of the different students, and watching them grow into
responsible adults. Also, she loves the beautiful music and the fun memories that they all make
together. Mrs. Setzer has been nominated to Who’s Who of American Teachers several times by her
students, but she has never filled out the forms to be entered. Mrs. Setzer is a cosponsor of the Tri-M
music society, and is actively involved in MENC (Music Educators of North Carolina).
“She’s like a mother to us; she takes care of us, no matter what,” states Leeann Matheson, a
junior.
“Mrs. Setzer is an awesome teacher; she has such a passionate zeal for music and she cares
about each and every one of her students,” says another student.
Mrs. Setzer’s ideal day teaching would consist of “focused, great rehearsals all day for all of my
choral classes”. Her favorite pieces of music to teach students are always difficult and challenging. She
says some of the nicest things any of her students have ever done for her was to love and respect her
for who she is and to give her their best efforts in all that they do.
Her favorite composer is Beethoven because of the “passion” in his music. To answer how music
is important to her, Mrs. Setzer offered the following quote from Boethius: “Music is part of human
nature. As human beings we are born with a desire to express ourselves musically- This expression
takes various forms, but all have a common root- the human heart.”
The choral teacher says her role models are “everyday people who get up each day and give life
their best effort, regardless of the circumstances,” and also those who place their lives in danger for
the benefit of others.
Mrs. Setzer offers this advice to students: “Be the best you can be, everyday.”

Here are some lesser known facts about Mrs. Setzer:

• Her favorite foods are greens of any kind except for Spinach, her least favorite food.

• Her favorite liquid refreshment is Iced Tea.

• Mrs. Setzer’s menagerie consists of five beagles, one Dalmatian, a mixed breed, and two cats.

• She loves sour candy.

• Mrs. Setzer attends church at Mt. Pleasant in Hayesville.

• The scariest thing Mrs. Setzer has ever done was taking oral final exams for her masters degree with
four professors asking her questions from four years of education in two hours.

• Les Miserables is her favorite novel.

• Her favorite film is the story of Brian Piccolo, I Am Third.

• Mrs. Setzer loves trivia- her favorite board game is Trivial Pursuit. No one will play it with her because
she is often accused of studying the questions!

• Her favorite quote is “If you believe in yourself and have dedication and pride and never quit, you’ll
be a winner,” by Bear Bryant.

• Mrs. Setzer plays the piano, the flute, and the harmonica.

• Abraham Lincoln is her favorite historical figure.

• Mrs. Setzer’s favorite country (other than the United States) is Italy because she is quite interested in
the ancient roman civilization.

• She loves every kind of music but hip hop and rap.

• Her favorite restaurant is The Olive Garden.

• Reader’s Digest is Mrs. Setzer’s favored magazine.

• Mrs. Setzer’s favorite sport is football.

• Mrs. Setzer loves Chocolate Ice Cream.

• Her dream vacation would be at the beach because of the serenity.

• The Rose is her favorite flower.

• Mrs. Setzer collects quotes and fabricated butterflies.

• The most famous person Mrs. Setzer has ever met was Bear Bryant, former coach of the University
of Alabama football team, at her home.

• If Mrs. Setzer was president of the U.S. for a day, she would enact better homeland security and
eradicate hunger and dire poverty throughout the country.

• Mrs. Setzer’s favorite holiday is Easter because “it is the reason we have hope and forgiveness”.

• Mrs. Setzer expects to see a lot of technological advances in music within the next twenty-five years.

• Her favorite shape is the circle because “it never ends”.

• Her favorite style of art is impressionism.

• Mrs. Setzer’s favorite poem is “The Road Less Traveled” by Robert Frost.

• Mrs. Setzer was born on her father’s birthday.

• 1 Corinthians 13 is her favorite passage from the Bible.

• Her favorite song is “In This Very Room”.