September Student of the Month: Josephine Wee

Josephine Wee and her husband relocated to Ohio from Las Vegas at the beginning of the year. She started taking lessons at Fred Astaire Westerville on January 19th.

Ever since she was in grade school in the Philippines, Josephine has passionately loved dancing. She had the opportunity to perform regularly in school programs. When ‘Dancing with the Stars’ first aired, Josephine watched it with her daughter. Her daughter then convinced her to begin dancing again. Consequently, Josephine became a student at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Las Vegas, approximately three years ago. Since then, she hasn’t looked back.

Josephine has found that when she dances, she turns into a better version of herself. It’s the perfect creative outlet to balance out her demanding career. Not only does dancing make her feel good, it also provides a fun challenge, especially when she participates in competitions. Though she attended smaller competitions in Las Vegas, the Buckeye Ball in Cleveland last month is by far the biggest she’s been a part of. Of course, she was remarkably successful, earning the titles of Rhythm Bronze Closed Champion, Smooth Bronze Closed Champion, Top Rhythm Solo and Top Lady Category B.

Naturally, reaching and maintaining such a high level of excellence requires a lot of effort. Josephine takes about two to four lessons a week, depending on her work and travel schedule. She has also been consistently attending group classes and parties since she started at Fred Astaire Westerville.

So many elements of Fred Astaire Westerville have contributed to Josephine feeling happy and comfortable. Both the staff and the students have done a fabulous job of creating a family atmosphere. Not only has Josephine formed many close friendships with other students at the studio, but she’s also found a great friend in her instructor Samuel Walker: ‘Dancing with Sam for the past eight months has been such a joy. We understand each other and almost always know what the other is thinking.’

Josephine is the Director of Operations for McDonald’s Ohio Region. As such, she is responsible for all of Ohio, as well as parts of Lexington, Kentucky. There are several aspects Josephine loves about her job: ‘I enjoy the people I get to interact with every day. From the crew and shift managers to the general managers and franchise owner, I love seeing people grow and learn continuously.’ Additionally, she enjoys the variety that the job offers. As someone who cares about people, Josephine is proud to be working for a company that is wholly focused on its customers.

The fact that Josephine attained such a high level of dance and maintained it despite relocating is a true testament to her dedication, talent and work ethic. Truly, the reason she was able to grow as a dancer, is because she never shied away from challenging herself. She has readily tackled steps and dances she wasn’t comfortable with and mastered them. She’s taken advantage of a lot of the coaching opportunities that Fred Astaire offers. Due to her commitment, she gelled with her new instructor Sam quickly: ‘He has been very patient and encouraging, always pushing me to do better.’

Though she has had to overcome many challenges, the most difficult one was simply getting started. Ever since she worked up the courage to walk into the studio and took her first lesson, it’s been an incredibly fun journey. However, what makes ballroom dancing such a beneficial hobby is that there is always room to improve. Josephine can constantly challenge herself by learning new technique and making it look flawless. Her advice to anyone who is considering taking dance lessons is : ‘Just go for it and have fun! You’ll never know until you try. Personally, ballroom dancing has helped me in so many ways and I believe it can do that for anyone.’

Now that they’re in Ohio, Josephine and her husband Randy greatly enjoy taking walks together. Because he is a chef, they also enjoying trying out all the different culinary options that Columbus offers. The have already discovered numerous fantastic restaurants. Besides that, they love to travel, see new places and experience various cultures.