Employee of the Week: A Passionate Piano Instructor

Each week, Tinley and Orland Patch will seek suggestions from readers for individual employees who are holding it down at work.

We want to hear about local dedicated staff members and will highlight one them for our Employee of the Week. Submit your nominations in our comment box below or e-mail the information to  or  at. Be sure to include all of the information that's featured below.

Now, back to business.

When students and customers come into The Music Shop, it's a safe bet they're going to run into Evan Borkstrom.

Borkstrom is a piano instructor at the shop and has been working there for three years. His dedication to his students and passion for teaching the art of tickling those ol' ivories earned him the praise of Music Shop owner and his brother, Eddie Borkstrom—not to mention Patch's pick as our .

• Employee's Name: Evan Borkstrom

• Workplace: , 16705 S. Oak Park Ave., Park.

• Position: Piano Instructor

• Time spent working there: Three years

• Nominated by: His brother and Music Shop owner, Eddie Borkstrom.

• Why? When asked to choose just one of his standout employees, Eddie Borkstrom immediately thought of Evan, he said. And not just because the two are related. He's known for his punctuality—he's actually often early to the job—and that he "leaves his “baggage at home," Eddie said. He added that Evan's passion for educating students is obvious. He has a keen understanding of how to connect with them in a way that makes learning not only fun, but relatable.

• Key to Awesomeness: Teaching the classical style of music that Evan does can be challenging, he admits, but when a student nails a piece, the enjoyment is two-fold. First, the student gets to see his or her hard work pay off and second, Evan gets to beam with pride. “I love doing this,” he said. “I like being able to transfer something I can do into people who want to be able to do the same thing.” With an attitude like that, there's nothing not to like about this instructor, who's clearly hitting all the right notes with his students.