Lauren Ward

September's alumni spotlight goes to Lauren Ward, who was a flutist for three years (four seasons) from 2010 to 2013. She quit her senior year of high school due to having too much going on: dual-enrollment PSEO and high school courses, theater, choir, private lessons, basketball, and volleyball. Basketball had been the main activity that had conflicted with MAYSO, and she wishes she "could have been in MAYSO one more year."

MAYSO had been Lauren's first orchestral experience, and she describes her experience in MAYSO positively, saying that it was "really neat to come into MAYSO" and that it's "something you never experience outside of being in an orchestra." Before she joined, she had been taking private flute lessons, and her flute instructor had been the one that had influenced her choice to join. She says it is "one of the best decisions [she] made in high school."

Lauren Ward with an #IamMAYSO sign. 

"It was super fun. Dr. Rodgers was full of a lot of energy. He made it a moving and laughing experience... Dr. Rodgers was probably one of my favorites. [He was] fun and knowledgeable, and he displayed knowledge in a fun and easy way to understand."

The challenge is what brought her back: "it's hard to say what I was practicing for on my own. There were only a few different competitions, but MAYSO made me want to be prepared each week." She also liked the other members, saying that the "people were super fun." She still keeps in touch with a few of the members, including Dahsol Lee, whom she's seen a few times, and Andrew Kienholz, who goes to her church (He's also in Egypt, right now).

Music has been and still is an impact in her life: "Flute helps me refocus and helps me breathe. Something about it just touches your core." After high school, she participated in a number of ensembles at Clearwater College, including another orchestra, handbell choir, symphonic band, and flute choir. She also takes private lessons and plays for her church. However, Clearwater College closed down after her first year due to low enrollment, so she is now enrolled at Cedarville University in Ohio. There, she still practices, though her current school limit 25 non-music major students to use the practice rooms. She does participate in band, and she also enjoys singing,

Lauren will be walking this year, but will not graduate until December 2017, with a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology. She hopes to do some type of medical research: "I'm not quite sure; it's a broad field, but I would love to do some type of medical research." For future prospective students, she advises to "enjoy your time" and to not focus "on the marks on the page" too much. "As our band director says: 'Don't expect to learn the music in practice; take the time out of rehearsal to practice.'"