Keith D. Abens Memorial Scholarship

Passion For Singing As a child, I grew up in a household that constantly played music. I would wake up in the morning to my dad jamming out to Kings of Leon in the basement, the bass rattling the floor. My mom would play her 90s pop while cooking breakfast, occasionally, you could hear them singing along with it. With this came a lasting effect; I became obsessed with music. My mom grew up in the best time, the 80s and 90s. I have been so lucky to have the mother I do for showing me the musicals from those times. There was Grease and Grease 2, Little Shop Of Horrors, Annie, Footloose, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Hairspray. I lived off of these musicals, consistently going to the Video Warehouse and renting them. Something inside me sparked as I saw the singing, dancing, and acting being put into them. I knew that this was what I was to do with my life. Going into elementary and middle school, I would go out for solos, pushing my barriers. Being on stage was frightening, but this is where I wanted to be. Even though my singing would be too bright and have no vibrato whatsoever, I still did it. There was something so ethereal about it, leading me to pursue piano lessons and dance. As I got older, I began to decline from piano and dance. Singing stayed with me until the end. Going into my high school years, I immediately signed up for Choir. I am so grateful for the opportunities that this small act has led me to. High school choir was a whole different ball park. I got to work with directors such as Theodore Brimeyer and Jon Edgeton, who consistently pushed me to be the best. The choir implemented singing techniques that made me sound mature and use my voice appropriately. This gave me enough confidence to audition for solos. Being able to sing in front of older students was surreal, and now being the one people look up to is so special. Choir isn’t the only thing that I am involved in. I am also involved in the musical department. Being a member of the musical Little Women in my sophomore year and now Mamma Mia in my senior year has been a dream come true. Choir and theater can be a balancing act. As my parents say, “academics come first”, and they are right. The amount of work you have to do outside of practice can be a lot, but I am so grateful to have the system I do. My family is my support system, they are there when I need a shoulder to lean on. Growing into a college student, I can’t always rely on them, so I take the opportunities to get my work done in class. Waking up early to get work done before school is also beneficial, as practice often gets in the way after school. Learning to use my resources and help from teachers has made me successful in singing, school work, and being more organized. Growing up as I did has made me develop such love for music and the art of making it with my voice. The many opportunities I have to showcase my singing, the directors I work with, and balancing it with school work have made me believe I can make it big. Never once would I think about how far I have come. Little Kendall would be immensely proud of what I have accomplished.

I have been involved with music in the Spirit Lake School District throughout my K-12 career. Beginning in 5th grade, I took up the alto saxophone and have been involved with band ever since. In middle school, I participated in honor band, concert band, marching band, as well as jazz band. In high school, my music career really took off! The more involved I got, the more passionate I became. In high school, in addition to being involved with concert band, marching band, honor band, and jazz band, I added pep band, jazz choir combo, show band (to support the show choir), tuba Christmas, and winter drumline. My achievements include participating in the Northwest Iowa Honor Band from my sophomore through senior years, earning division 1 ratings at solo ensemble contests in all submissions, and being selected for the Iowa All-State band my senior year. I auditioned for and was selected to perform at the South Dakota State University senior honors recital and was the only saxophonist selected. I have also shared my musical talents in the community by participating in my church's youth praise band, "Testify," performing at least once per month in worship. I have also played in my church's Christmas Cantata, Palm Sunday, and Easter services. I have played at a funeral, the Central Bank Emerald Club, a coffee shop, a brewery, and the Roof Garden Ballroom as part of the "Upson Downs" band. I balance my musical passion with academic responsibilities by often being one of the first students to arrive at the school in the morning. I have become very responsible with managing my time. I have been required to work on homework on bus rides to and from musical and athletic events. Oftentimes, I need to work with coaches, directors, and teachers to allow myself to thrive both academically and in my extracurricular activities. I have been successful in achieving academic excellence in all 4 years of high school. I maintain a 3.936 GPA and am ranked 14th in my class. I am a member of the National Honor Society and am an award winner of the Iowa Bar Association's "Know Your Constitution" contest. I am currently enrolled in multiple Iowa Lakes dual credit classes to get a jump start on my college education. It is my firm belief that being well-rounded is essential to living a happy and balanced life because it gives me opportunities to express my gifts and connect with other people.

Music has always been a focal point in my life. From the time I was a kid, constantly listening to whatever vinyl record my dad put on, to listening to my siblings play at countless concert, pep, jazz, band and choir performances, and now finally getting to participate and play myself. The passion that I have for music is derived from the intense rush and ecstatic feeling I always get from listening to or playing a magnificent song and wanting others to experience it with me. I distinctly remember listening to a recording of the band Queen playing for Live Aid at Wembley Stadium when I was around ten years old. When I watched this event, chills were running up and down my spine and I could just feel the energy and emotion as Freddie Mercury belted out the lyrics to Bohemian Rhapsody for hundreds of millions of people to hear. My bond with music has also grown much stronger since I’ve started to play at my church. Once a month I get to come together with multiple other fantastic musicians and really appreciate the process of making music. Besides just getting to play beautiful music, I have found how sensational it is to work together. You have to be listening very intently in order to blend well with others and also communicate non-verbally to ensure we are all on the same page. From moments such as these, I have learned that music will always be a part of my life. One of my lifetime goals is to spread this love of music and become the best musician I can. As I’ve grown older, this love for music still grows, yet it seems like many other aspects of my life require more time and effort than before. Being involved in cross country, track and field, speech, the musical, academics, and also trying to be a stand-up person means I have to budget my time efficiently and give 100% of my effort in the time that I do have. This can be exemplified when I’m given music to learn, yet I never have enough time to learn it outside of rehearsal. I have to go to track practice for two hours, attend musical or speech rehearsals, and also complete my academic work. The way my life is structured forces me to involve myself deeply while practicing with the band and focus on understanding what type of music I am playing. Along with this, it is also crucial for me to put this same mindset of effort toward my school work because other activities push into that area of my life as well. This deep commitment to music and learning has helped me become very driven in whatever discipline I am involved in. Across the turntable of life, moving from The Beatles, to Mozart, or to my next essay due, my passion for music is what I strive to incorporate into all areas of my life. I always hope the next time I touch the stage for a jazz band, choir, or church performance, that I will share a little bit of joy and feeling for everyone listening. Through music, I have found a passion for living and taking on challenges. So if I have one ambition, it is to expand my understanding of the language of music and to integrate my dedication into whatever I choose to pursue.

I am involved in Youth in Philanthropy. In this program, 25 local students are admitted and our goal is to raise money for local non-profits in the area. In this program, I go out in the community and raise money through generous donors. After a few months of this, the program receives grant requests which the students read and review. After reading and reviewing these grants we decide who we want to give our pool of money to. Last year our program raised 57,000 dollars and we were able to fulfill three grant requests! I am passionate about philanthropy, especially at a young age, because it teaches you good lifelong skills. I have learned a lot from philanthropy like how to gain the confidence to ask for money, keep your donors and money organized, and learn how to effectively read & review grant requests. I also believe that philanthropy is important because it is a good way to give back to your community. I live in a tourist, lakes area community with a lot of state parks and nature accesses that have given me a lot. I am very grateful to live in such a beautiful community like mine that I am very passionate about giving back to. My community has done so much to me that giving back to it is very important to me. It takes a lot to balance my passion of giving back and my academic responsibilties. Although, I have found that joining programs that are for the youth help me balance this in the best way. My YIP meeting happen once a month around 7:15pm on Wednesday. The very few meeting of this program allow me to still go to youth group most Wednesdays, and the later time allows me to finish my sports practice before the meeting. When not in season this also gives me time to finish my homework and studying for the day. I have also found that good time management and planning skills have helped me keep a good balance. Time management is important when you have a lot going on because it keeps you at minimal levels of stress. Planning is also very important because it helps keep you organized and helps me to know what I have to get done for that day. Overall, Youth in Philanthropy is a great program I am in that allows me to fufill my passion of giving back to my great community. I am able to balance my passions and academic responsibilties by joining youth based programs and having good time management & planning skills.

The thing about me is that I have never been involved in just one activity. Throughout my high school career, I have done practically every fine arts event. From musicals/plays and solo ensembles, to individual and large group speeches and being involved in the different bands and choirs. The amazing thing I can say is that I don’t regret doing any of it. All of it has truly changed me as a person and made me a much happier individual. Music is such a big part of who I am and so I hope to continue pursuing it even throughout college by being a part of the choir. Getting to share my singing voice and other musical abilities makes me happy because it usually seems to make other people happy too. Even just singing at my church on Wednesdays and Sundays brings me so much joy. I am so passionate about all of these activities as they bring out the best in me and allow me to make connections and friendships that will last a lifetime. In the end, it's not about the music made, instead, it’s about the journey you took to get there and the rollercoaster ride you experienced in order to grow. I hope my love for music will never die. To be honest, I have never fully been an expert at managing all of these passions of mine, but over my high school career I have found that communication is key. In order for you to be successful you need to communicate with your coaches and leaders so that everyone is on the same page of understanding. It took me so long to figure out how to do this properly, but over the years coaches and teachers became more understanding that I was in multiple events and that those events didn’t always match up on timelines. It has been a bit of a struggle, but one I am proud and glad I went through. It taught me a lot about multitasking and needing to speak up for myself to be able to do all the things I want to be involved in. When it comes to academics I just have to stay on top of my school work the best I can, and if anything, I just communicate with my teachers when I need more time or assistance. It has never been easy as it gets so busy and time consuming, but I find it to be a skill I am very successful at now. Being involved truly helps you time manage and it has helped me to be a more proactive individual overall when it comes to my education. I have loved all my time and the amazing experiences I have gotten to be a part of with Okoboji High School's fine arts. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for me!