the roar | seniors | 3
friday, may 17, 2019
Jacob Speakman
by Sam de Figueiredo
Senior Jacob Speakman considers himself proud to toot his own horn -after six years of playing in bands and orchestras, he will continue his studies at the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Speakman said he discovered his desire to become a professional musician in a middle school orchestra rehearsal. “I just realized there’s no ‘lose’ scenario in this game,” Speakman said. “Yeah, you’ll suffer some anxiety when you have a really
stressful program to play, but you’ll get over that -- just don’t be a baby about it. I figured, this is really the way to go.” Since then, Speakman said he immersed himself in all things horn. In addition to being first chair horn in Consol’s band, he has been a member of the TMEA All-State Band. Most recently, he was accepted into the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYOUSA), something Speakman describes as “one of the most prestigious things you can
Senior Eric Zhang was involved in everything--orchestra, basketball, AP level classes, robotics--but his passion is computer science. “I just really like how it's a lot of technical skill, but also you need creativity to think outside the box,” Zhang said. “There are multiple approaches to solving these programming problems and it's just putting all of those different techniques that I know into accomplishing something practical.” Zhang was introduced to computer science through summer programs and the programming classes at Consol. He plans to study computer science at Cornell University next fall. “The ultimate goal right now is I want to work for the CIA from a computer science perspective,” Zhang said. “I want to be able to do something meaningful and noble, just trying to make a difference.” Zhang remembers that the first time he was able to understand code was an eye-opening experience--later influencing his decision to pursue computer science in college. “Before I would look at a wall of code and it was all gibberish to me,” Zhang said.
“Being able to interpret what some of that meant was really enlightening. It was just an amazing feeling like ‘holy cow I get it now’ and knowing that this is what I want to do because it clicks.” Programming I and II teacher, Diane Rister, also noticed that Zhang expressed a genuine interest in studying computer science. “[He’s a] very bright and focused young man, and you can tell that he really likes this course because he just studied it, even if class was over, he continued on with the assignment,” Rister said. “He was really focused on getting everything done and even learning more, taking the problem to another level.” Zhang’s dedication to understanding computer science has helped him to persevere, even when a problem seems particularly difficult--a lesson that he considers useful both in programming and in life. “[Sometimes] it just won't work and you won't know why and you just have to keep attacking a problem from different angles,” Zhang said. “Just keep going at it even if you get deterred, and you'll find your way out eventually.”
do as a high school musician.” “We’re going on tour and doing eight different concerts in the nicest concert halls in Europe. The conductor of the Royal Opera House is our conductor,” Speakman said. “You get to tour the world and play with not only the best high school musicians in the country, but you get to play with professional conductors and soloists.” While Speakman is excited for his upcoming opportunity, he said he expects the difficult programs to create “killer” anxiety before performances. “On horn, you could virtually put down the same fingering and play a million different notes. We’re also given the stupidest stressful solos,” Speakman said. “When you go to a concert, the people that will miss the most notes is the horn section. It’s not our fault. It happens.” While fumbled notes could go unnoticed in the viola or violin section, in which multiple people play the same part, Speakman said that isn’t the case in the wind and brass sections. “You’re like one on a part, so everything is exposed,” Speakman said. “If you mess up, everyone’s gonna hear it, and you instantly get judged by a lot of people. You could even potentially get fired in a professional orchestra.”
Speakman said this pressure makes meticulous practice even more necessary. While he enjoys practicing, he said it makes completing school work a difficult balancing act. “It’s annoying when I have a really busy schedule, and school tries to make you do a lot. When I’m gone or busy with music stuff, that’s the stuff that’s actually gonna help me,” Speakman said. “If I need to prepare an audition or something, I mean, it’s just a waste of time to do the other stuff.” But even with his overwhelming schedule, Speakman said he has never once questioned following this path. “My friends and I never say ‘Why do we do this,’ but we always joke like ‘I wish I picked violin,” Speakman said. “We always make jokes, but never seriously, because we always enjoy it.” Speakman added that he doesn’t see his passion going away anytime soon. “There’s so much left to learn about being more efficient, about how to win a job, about how to convey your meaning. There’s never going to be a point where anyone in their life will ever know everything.” Speakman said. “There’s too much music to learn in a lifetime, which is great because you’ll always have stuff to keep you going.”
Eric Zhang by Olivia Conway
After teaching him for two years and witnessing his work ethic first-hand, Rister is confident that Zhang will succeed in college and beyond. “He's going to Cornell, [which is a] very good computer science university, so the potential is there and he will see to it that he's going to learn everything he can,” Rister said. “He can be anything he wants
to be.” Though programming, and high school in general, might have been difficult at times for Zhang, he is thankful for his experiences. “It helped me grow a lot as a person, helped me find myself,” Zhang said. “It wasn't always easy, but looking back it was all good for me, all the trials, all the good
