ISAAC PENA

It was his rst High school football game, he was consumed with feeling nervous and excited. His heart could not stop racing, it felt as if it was going to burst right out of his chest.

Being a freshman and having that rst-time experience was nerveracking enough, but also being the only quads player meant that there was no room for error.

His rst “Friday Night Lights”, having the crowd cheering the band on, feeling the eyes of hundreds of people on him, he had to close his eyes, take a breath, and let his hands do all the work. A night that he will never forget. It was everything he could’ve imagined, the marching band and the drum line all performed perfectly, and he truly fell in love with the feeling.

You have heard the phrase “moving to the beat of your own drum”. In most cases, it’s a phrase that ies over people’s heads, but in senior Isaac Peña’s case, he takes it quite literally.

Peña grew a passion for music from an extremely young age. At the age of three Isaac’s curiosity began to wander, he would take pots and pans from his childhood kitchen and bang them together creating loud but surprisingly amusing beats. His parents saw how talented he was from such a young age. ey decided to buy him his rst drum set at the age of ve. Peña’s father has always reminded him growing up that he has potential with music in his future.

Peña knew playing the drums would lead him somewhere, he just wasn’t exactly sure how far. Growing up has allowed Peña to progress musically. At the age of three Peña began to play music in church, his father being a pastor helped contribute to that experience.

Around the age of ten Peña stopped playing music in church and transitioned to playing in school. He rst started learning music in the sixth grade at Memorial Middle School and was put in the symphonic band immediately.

He was soon awarded the most outstanding all years in middle school and was rst chair, meaning that he was considered the best and of the highest rank. From there he knew high school would be where he would truly prosper.