“I’ve played guitar since elementary school.

My middle school teacher really pushed me to pursue guitar as more of a hobby because he was very serious about the guitar. I also enjoy playing, so I wanted to carry that enjoyment to high school.

Guitar used to be more about me enjoying [myself] and having fun, but now it’s also a challenge because I’ve gotten better. So whenever I play guitar now, I don’t play easy music. I try to find hard songs to challenge myself.

Guitar has really impacted all the friendships I’ve had. A very memorable moment was my sophomore year, the night before the annual Hill Country Classical Guitar Ensemble Festival and Competition at San Marcos. A lot of people from my year were still there but I was rooming with seniors and juniors because they were my quartet members. [That night] was really fun because we stayed up until like three, and we woke up at 6 a.m. and still somehow won.

Honestly, the first semester feels like a whole bunch of strangers, because either you’re new or new people come in. But once that San Marcos trip hits, everyone gets more comfortable with each other, because we spend a lot of time on the bus [together] and obviously share a room. After that, I feel like it just becomes more like a family.

But this year, it was kind of different because I’m the only one left from my freshman year. There’s new people, but I grew more comfortable with them, and it felt more like a family. My teacher always tries to make [the trip] serious, and all of us take it seriously to a point, but it’s mostly about having fun and enjoying the time playing.

I remember my freshman year I used to pretend I was independent. I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I know my way around,’ but I always asked my friends who were older than me, ‘Where’s this class? What do I do?’ But now, since I have classes with freshmen, they always ask me questions. It’s even more this year, and it’s honestly so crazy.

It’s crazy to me how it is kind of like that corny expression where the student becomes the teacher. I thought it was just some corny thing, but it honestly comes true in a way.

I got a full ride to the University of St. Thomas through a combination of merit-based scholarships, like the Basilian Distinguished Scholar Scholarship and the St. Thomas Promise, grants and financial aid. It’s for mechanical engineering, so I’m going to try to juggle that and work at Chick-Fil-A. I chose engineering because I was in robotics in elementary and a little bit of middle school before lockdown. After, I just forgot about it, but then recently it’s just something I really enjoyed. I know I’ll enjoy pursuing [engineering], and actually enjoy a career in.”