“My elementary school, Longfellow, was a fine arts school that required students to do extracurriculars. They offered choir, orchestra, band, dance and art. I had the opportunity to try all of the fine arts, and I was terrible at all of them. The only one that really interested me was band. After leaving elementary school, I stuck with band because I wanted an easy way to meet new people and make friends. 

One memory that stands out to me is the trip that the entire band took to Disney. During the four days in Florida, all of the band [members] got to explore the many parks offered such as the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom [and] Disney Springs. We also had the opportunity to work with an experienced director at the Imagination campus. We sight read and played ‘The Imperial March,’ ‘Colors of the Wind’ from ‘Pocahontas’ and performed a soundtrack of ‘Vuelie’ to ‘Frozen’s’ outro. The experience was very magical. 

Another memory that highlights my time with band was [the] concert and sightreading at UIL. This was the first time in years that the band earned sweepstakes at UIL. When the music was first given, I had a hard time trying to sync up the music to the beat, especially in ‘Port Isabel Getaway.’ As the band kept working and improving, the clinician with the composer of our piece, Gabe Musella, introduced a different way of cleaning up measures [and] helped me develop my piccolo solo involving a 2:3 clave. 

My high school experience was always changing. I remember my eighth grade year taking the STAAR test at the old Bellaire High School, with the locker-filled hallways and the courtyard with misaligned bricks and gigantic trees. Then going into high school with a new campus and trying to figure out where my classes were. The unexplained leaving of Principal McDonough and the takeover of TEA left a sour taste in my mouth, especially after the unruly changes provided by the district. However, Bellaire is very unique and diverse, and I realize how fortunate I am to have a flexible lunch time with Cardinal Hour, as well as the specialized classes offered here. 

Bellaire has made me learn that you have the option to be free to try whatever you’d like. Unlike other schools in HISD, we have so many unique classes available to students as well as many diverse clubs and extracurriculars. Take advantage of this, and find something that you’ll be passionate about. I was able to join the Filipino American Student Association, be a photographer for the Carillon Yearbook and be a flute player and assisting Drum Major for the band. 

I honestly feel ready to move on to the next chapter of my life towards college. I will be attending the University of Houston in the fall, and I will also continue band with the Spirit of Houston! I expect to have a lot of trial and error as a freshman in college, and that’s perfectly okay. I appreciate the experience Bellaire has provided me, as I wouldn’t be able to get that anywhere else. Go Coogs!”