Growing up as a low-income student surrounded by friends and peers virtually unaffected by financial challenges impacted my life the most. It made me aware of financial inequality and shaped my sense of financial responsibility and the value of hard work, which influences how I navigated my college journey and life. When I was young, I understood my family wasn’t wealthy. My mother worked a low-paying job, my father was unemployed, and we boiled during the summer because we couldn’t afford air conditioning. However, I truly began to understand our financial situation when my mom couldn’t pay for gymnastics classes. My older sister and I both took gymnastics, but eventually, the cost became too much for my mother to handle alone. Swallowing her pride, my mother talked to the owners of the gymnastics studio and asked if there was anything we could do to reduce the costs. They said we could reduce our class fees if we cleaned the gym every Sunday. So, at 9 years old, my mom, sister, dad, and I scrubbed equipment and wiped down floors in a multi-room gymnastics building so I could keep doing what I loved. None of my friends at school had to jump through tremendous hoops to play a sport, so I began to realize how different my situation was. The older I got, the more socially disconnected I felt from my friends and peers. When my family moved to El Dorado Hills for high school, I was surrounded by affluent peers, but circumstances remained the same. Whenever I expressed my financial struggles to friends at school, their looks of confusion and awkward silences left me feeling deeply misunderstood. Many times I missed out on social events or trips, not because I didn’t want to, but because I simply couldn’t afford to go. As time passed, I felt like an outsider in a world where I didn’t belong. I have been motivated to work hard to overcome my situation. At 16, I started working at Famous Footwear to help financially support my family. I work between 12-22 hours a week – every day I am available. During times when my mom lost her job and we had no source of income at all, my financial support has helped keep my family on our feet. To not let my financial hardship define me, I have worked hard as a musician and academic student. I have worked hard inside and outside of school, honing my skills as a saxophone player and drummer across multiple highly competitive music ensembles. My passion for music has motivated my goals to continue music in college to become a music educator. To make college more accessible, I’ve taken many AP classes to challenge myself and advance my knowledge while preparing for college-level work and earn college credits. I plan to use my passions for music to give back to society by teaching young musicians of the future. As a music teacher, I would strive to foster positive community of musicians who are just as excited about playing as I am, and teach the value of drive and perseverance. I will not let my financial struggles prevent my success future as an educator, but I will let it guide me to success now that I am aware of the struggles of financial inequality in my own life.

In 3rd grade, observing my 5th-grade sister’s ardor for learning the flute greatly inspired me to learn to play music myself. I began my musical journey on the flute in 4th grade, but the more I played, the more I found a particular interest in jazz saxophone. In middle school, I began absorbing myself in jazz music, practicing every day to try to learn to play how great jazz musicians played so well. At this time, I was deeply interested in the melodies and the way musicians could sound like everything they played so easily, and I knew I wanted to play like that one day. When I entered high school, I was introduced to a pool of extremely skilled upperclassmen musicians that motivated me even more. Since my freshman year, I have been a member of my school’s jazz ensemble, wind ensemble, and marching band, as well as indoor percussion for the past two years of high school. My high school experience in all the advanced instrumental ensembles my school offers, I have learned to love and appreciate many different forms of music while maintaining jazz as my core. In my time in many different ensembles at school, I have had many different music instructors from marching band and indoor percussion to wind ensemble and jazz. All the instructors and directors I have had the opportunity to have taught me different lessons in music that I can apply to all the different instruments I play. In addition, all their instruction and passion for music encouraged me to be more inspired by all the music I play and my desire to learn more. In college, I plan on participating in various music ensembles to deepen my overall knowledge of music. I see myself primarily performing in classical and jazz ensembles, to improve my skills as a saxophone player. Additionally, I plan on pursuing music education to one day be a band director with a strong and diverse music program that reflects my diverse musical background. Primarily, I am looking forward to learning more about jazz music to learn how to teach a big band ensemble as a middle school or high school band director. Outside of career goals, I would love to have my jazz combo after college to play jazz gigs in my community. As a music teacher, I see that there are not many ways to play your instrument as the teacher is busy teaching. In hopes of continuing my passion for playing my instrument, I would love to engage with my community and play the music that I love to play with other like-minded musicians. Playing in my jazz combo will allow me to continue my passion for playing music while also being involved in music as a teacher. In all, my excitement for jazz began my ever-growing passion for music and desire to continue after high school. I hope with my music education in college, I can touch the hearts of young musicians so they can share the same excitement for music that I have experienced. From playing in college ensembles or jazz combos, music will always be a part of my life, and I am excited to see where my passions will lead me in the future.

In 3rd grade, observing my 5th-grade sister’s ardor for learning the flute greatly inspired me to learn to play music myself. I began my musical journey on the flute in 4th grade, but the more I played, the more I found a particular interest in jazz saxophone. In middle school, I began absorbing myself in jazz music, practicing every day to try to learn to play how great jazz musicians played so well. At this time, I was deeply interested in the melodies and the way musicians could sound like everything they played so easily, and I knew I wanted to play like that one day. When I entered high school, I was introduced to a pool of extremely skilled upperclassmen musicians that motivated me even more. Since my freshman year, I have been a member of my school’s jazz ensemble, wind ensemble, and marching band, as well as indoor percussion for the past two years of high school. My high school experience in all the advanced instrumental ensembles my school offers, I have learned to love and appreciate many different forms of music while maintaining jazz as my core. In my time in many different ensembles at school, I have had many different music instructors from marching band and indoor percussion to wind ensemble and jazz. All the instructors and directors I have had the opportunity to have taught me different lessons in music that I can apply to all the different instruments I play. In addition, all their instruction and passion for music encouraged me to be more inspired by all the music I play and my desire to learn more. In college, I plan on participating in various music ensembles to deepen my overall knowledge of music. I see myself primarily performing in classical and jazz ensembles, to improve my skills as a saxophone player. Additionally, I plan on pursuing music education to one day be a band director with a strong and diverse music program that reflects my diverse musical background. Primarily, I am looking forward to learning more about jazz music to learn how to teach a big band ensemble as a middle school or high school band director. Outside of career goals, I would love to have my jazz combo after college to play jazz gigs in my community. As a music teacher, I see that there are not many ways to play your instrument as the teacher is busy teaching. In hopes of continuing my passion for playing my instrument, I would love to engage with my community and play the music that I love to play with other like-minded musicians. Playing in my jazz combo will allow me to continue my passion for playing music while also being involved in music as a teacher. In all, my excitement for jazz began my ever-growing passion for music and desire to continue after high school. I hope with my music education in college, I can touch the hearts of young musicians so they can share the same excitement for music that I have experienced. From playing in college ensembles or jazz combos, music will always be a part of my life, and I am excited to see where my passions will lead me in the future.