Our community has a storied tradition of honoring SMHS seniors for their contributions to the community through our Rotary Students of the Month Award. Decided to honor Allyson Wang, 12, for the month of November, courtesy of our band director Ms. Molina’s nomination.
Allyson has been with San Marino’s music program since she was in 4th grade, where she played flute with Carver’s elementary school concert band. She continued to play the flute with SMUSD throughout middle school and has continued to do so with the high school, performing with our school’s marching band all four years of high school as well as wind ensemble for the past two years. Outside of school, Allyson has played with Pasadena Youth Symphony Orchestra’s Symphonia band and has taken weekly private lessons from 6th grade to 11th grade. “Playing the flute has been an integral part of my high school experience. While I’ve started to play a little bit less this year, I still enjoy it as much as I did when I first started out. I just love the fact that I can produce so many interesting textures to formulate a very cohesive final product, and it’s a great way for me to bond with so many other people. As of right now, I’m working on getting better at breathier sounds so hopefully I can diversify the catalogue of pieces I can play,” Wang said.
One of her favorite experiences with the marching band came during their annual tradition of Freshman Initiation. “It was a really big ‘coming full circle’ or ‘passing the torch’ moment for me. In marching band, tradition is really important and there’s a lot of respect between the newer members and the seniors. One of our biggest traditions is Freshman Initiation where we essentially push our freshmen into a pool, with their consent of course. Just being the one to push them and suddenly realizing that I’m a mentor figure for so many of my bandmates was just a really emotional moment for me,” Wang said.
Regarding being that mentor figure, Allyson has strived her best to act as a pillar of support for her section. “I really hope I’ve assumed that mentor figure status for a lot of my bandmates because when I was a freshman, I really looked up to my seniors and I think they really helped me grow into a better person. I try my best to do as good of a job as possible and I really do enjoy being a section leader and supporting my section. For example, I just helped coach a freshman, Emily, and I think we both had a good time,” Wang said.
Moving onto college, Allyson hopes to continue playing with the flute and is determined to play with a performance group. “The community I experienced in our Titan Regiment Marching Band and the spirit that is threaded throughout our school district’s VAPA programs have made me a life-learner and appreciator of the arts. While I’m applying to be a chemistry or chemical engineering major (specifically with an interest in researching artificial photosynthesis), a strong humanities program is one of the things I’m most excited about,” Wang said.
Allyson Wang, 12, pictured on the left performing at our annual showcase.
