A wonderful six years

Dear K.E.Y.S.,

I have thought for many weeks on how I wanted to write this letter. I apologize for how long it has taken me. With just recently completing my first month of college, I find it finally appropriate to send this.

I’ve been a part of KEYS since the 7th grade when I heard about it from my orchestra class in school. “FREE private violin lessons” caught my attention as the violin was something I adored and I wished to learn about even more. So I of course decided to sign up for this program but little did I know the next 6 years would be full of amazing memories with KEYS.

I remember my first private lesson with Ms. Amy Griswold and how I could almost never perfect my bow hold because of my pinky not wanting to cooperate. I remember my first day at the Saturday Orchestra back when it was rotating practice each week in the Klein or Bessemer. I loved every second I spent in KEYS. I started at the bottom and made my way up throughout the orchestra sections. I also made many friends through KEYS that I still talk to today despite being from different cities and schools.

Being a part of KEYS is one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. I grew up with KEYS for 6 years, from being a 7th grader to high school graduate, now attending college. This is why I’m so thankful to be the recipient of the KEYS Scholarship this year. This scholarship represents an organization I truly care about and I’m grateful everyday. KEYS is a part of my life that I will never forget about.

The generous scholarship helps with the funding for my education at Quinnipiac University where I am majoring in Biology and am part of the 3+1 Accelerated Dual Degree and the Honors Program. These past 4 weeks have been a big change and a lot of work. But I am happy with this new chapter of my life and am ready to make the most out of it.

I want to give a special shoutout to Laurie Bradbury for always being such a positive person on Saturday mornings when most kids just want to sleep in, Audie Szymanski for leading our orchestra my last few months left in KEYS, Amy Griswold for being my teacher for many years, and I would love to continue giving shoutouts to each person I have ever worked with at KEYS, but that would take up too much of a page. Overall, everyone that has ever worked with me I’m thankful for. I don’t know how many more times I can say thank you before sounding ingenuine, but it is true each time because that just shows how much this incredible program has meant to me.

So finally, thank you K.E.Y.S. for a wonderful 6 years.